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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25121002">The Story Of A Love Story</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/writershapeholeonthedoor/pseuds/writershapeholeonthedoor'>writershapeholeonthedoor</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alex Danvers &amp; Lena Luthor Friendship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort/Angst, Drama, Drama &amp; Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gen, Kara is in trouble, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Love, Married Couple, Multi-verse, Pregnancy, References to Depression, Romance, Sad, Sad Lena Luthor, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sorrow, True Love, bad things happen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:02:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,621</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25121002</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/writershapeholeonthedoor/pseuds/writershapeholeonthedoor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Things were different when she planned it. In her mind, Kara would be there with her, holding her hand, supporting her, giving her all the love she needed without asking. But now she was alone, holding a baby in her arms, with nowhere to support herself, with no love to bath herself in. In the back of her mind, Lena knew, she always suspected, that her life was going too well to be true. Someone like Lena doesn't deserve a happy ending.<br/>Or<br/>Lena is pregnant and alone. Kara was supposed to be there, but she isn't, and Lena is not sure how she should handle things now.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Querl Dox/Nia Nal, Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>328</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Another work I start!<br/>This is another attempt of mine to write a multi-chapter fic, so please let me know how this is working out.<br/>Keep in mind that English is NOT my first language, but I do my best with the help of Grammarly.<br/>I really, really didn't want to spoil things too much at the tags or the notes, but here's a few things you need to know before start reading this:<br/>-There's no timeline for this. I didn't picture a specific moment in the canon timeline for this fic to take place, but a few things are still canon. I will mention it if it's pertinent to the development of the story;<br/>-I know nothing about how the multi-verses actually work, this is how it would work out in my head;<br/>-I wrote a fic a bit similar to this a while ago, "Too Far From Home" (in case you wanna read it), but decided to give this plot another chance with some added details;<br/>-Most of the chapters (at least the first ones, from the first part of this fic) are divided in two parts: Present at first, and then a flashback, a memory of something that happened a while ago (always indicated by the chapter break). I hope this all make sense to you</p><p>Anyway, enjoy the reading and, like I said, let me know what you think</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pain.</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena was very aware it was going to happen, she tried to make herself ready to face it, she read tons of books and talked with people who could explain it in vivid details, but there wasn’t enough knowledge that could prepare her for the amount of pain she would feel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It started slow, an hour after she walked inside her office at CatCo. Just a small discomfort assembling cramps, then it started moving to her lower back. There was a fair amount of time between these jolts of pain, so Lena decided she could ignore it for a while longer. It was a terrible thing to think, but maybe she could hold it back until her body changed its mind about being ready to give birth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rather if it was wishful thinking or just how things worked, Lena managed to finish her day of work, wish a very good night to Jess, her most loyal employee, and head home. Deep down, she knew it wasn’t home that she should go to, but there was exactly where she went to. She took a shower and went to bed with her wristwatch and a notebook to write down the times of each contraction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because, yes, she was having contractions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena had no idea what she should do after that, though. She never had to plan what to do if she went into labor with no one else around to help her. Every time she pictured it, every plan she made or thought about, every time she dreamed about it, Kara was there right beside her to help. To hold her hand, to calm her down, to remember her how to breathe, to take her to the hospital.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They planned this together. All of this. Kara helped her put the maternity bag together, they attended the stupid Lamaze classes that Kara was eager to go after Sam told her about it, and they discussed where to put it until needed, they figured out what was the best way to get into the hospital – flying was a veto, but so was let Kara drive, so they agreed to call for Lena’s driver or one of their friends. In every scenario, Kara would be there with her throughout the entire thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Lena was alone. Kara wasn’t there. All she had was an empty apartment, a silent house, and no one to tell her it would all be okay. Lena was scared, not for the first time in her life, but the difference was that she wasn’t sure she could go through that fear alone that time around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She needed Kara, but her wife was gone. She wasn’t there to hold her hand, to tell her to breath, to grab the bag, to call for a ride. Kara wasn’t there because she was gone and, out of sudden, Lena felt like crying in more than just pain. Crying came more easily for her now these days, especially at the quiet and solitude that fell over her apartment in the last two months.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The contractions were happening ten minutes from each other and Lena knew it was time for her to get to the hospital unless she wished to give birth to her daughter alone at home. Which was discussed several times between them before they agreed to do it. With Kara’s Science background, Alex’s biology knowledge, and Lena’s bossy ways, they figured out they could do it. Plans changed since Kara was gone, so she needed to find a way to get to the hospital or risk it being too late to move.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Picking up her phone, Lena dialed the number and waited as she took deep, shaky breaths through her mouth. There was a brief beep when the other line picked the call, a small groan, and then a sleepy yawn that made Lena feel bad for having to wake people up. To be honest, she hadn’t realized it was already past midnight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alex?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lena? What is it? Why are you calling me this late at night?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena gulped, one hand clenching the sheets underneath herself, green eyes filled with tears that were slowly rolling down her cheeks, and then she gasped for air when a sob threaten to escape. Of course the other woman heard and, when Alex spoke again, she sounded completely alert.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lena? Are you okay?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I’m having contractions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The other woman sounded as surprised as her for that information and, if they were in any other situation, Lena could have made a joke about it. 37 weeks pregnant and getting surprised for going into labor? No one should be that stupid, Lena chastised herself. <em>“Where are you?”</em></span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m at home,” Lena bit her bottom lip when another shot of pain ran down her spine straight to her lower back. They were happening closer and closer to each other, and the pain was starting to get more located in her stomach area. It was going to happen, no matter her own feelings about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay. Wait for me there. I’m on my way.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena bit back the wish to snarl or scream, to demand where exactly Alex thought she was going, but another rush of fear silenced her complaint. She was alone, in pain, with a baby on the way. Things were not looking good for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alex...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s going to be okay, Lena. I just need you to stay there and wait for me. I will take you to the hospital and we will figure things out, okay?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alex...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m already out the door. I will take Sam’s car and...”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alex.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Either the way she called out for the older woman or the heartbreaking voice she used shushed the agent. There was a pause, Lena could picture Alex halfway outside the hallway in Sam’s apartment complex, jacket hanging from one arm while she balanced the phone with the other shoulder. As scared as Lena, probably. As lost as her, for sure.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need Kara,” Lena wailed, followed shortly by a broken sob.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a sigh on the other side of the line, another pause, then the rush of steps. <em>“I know. I’m sorry, Lena. I’m so sorry.”</em></span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Neither of them spoke for a while. Lena closed her eyes, one hand resting on her big pregnant belly, tears rolling freely down her face now as she listened to Alex moving around, unlocking a car and closing a door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I will be there in a few. It’s going to be fine.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>33 weeks ago:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it time yet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rolling her eyes fondly, Lena didn’t even bother looking down at her watch. “No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a beat of silence, two seconds at max, before Kara peaked at the box on top of the sink again. “How long does it take?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were both sitting at the bathroom on their master suite, Lena on the toilet closed seat and Kara at the laundry basket she pulled out while ignoring the glare the other woman sent her way, but it allowed her to sit almost right in front of Lena, which was all she wanted at that moment. The proximity, the comfort from the other’s presence, to be able to look at her wife’s beautiful face while they waited.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five more minutes, Kara,” the brunette replied while picking on her nails.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said that last time,” the blonde whined like someone had just told her that potstickers were banished from America.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, because it has been less than a minute since the last time you asked me!” Infuriating. Yet, Lena had a glint in her eyes that softened her expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m excited!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yes, like no one else had realized it by the way Kara kept fiddling with her sleeves and tapping her foot on the floor. Lena, who was literally watching her throw a glance at the cup every two seconds, would never be able to tell her wife was excited about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, darling.” Softening her features even more, Lena tried to express all of her concern with only a look. “But don’t get your hopes so high, it might not have worked again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was attempt number 3. The other 2 weren’t a disaster, per se, although it caused some amount of hurt they hadn’t anticipated and neither was ready to deal with afterward. The ‘what ifs’ and forged memories can sometimes be too hurtful. So Lena would try to keep both feet on the ground this time and spare herself more emotional pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I have a really good feeling about it this time. This is going to be it.” Bless Kara and her ‘cup half full’ personality.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, keep in mind it might not work,” Lena tried again, this time in a gentler tone and forcing a small smile out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kara nodded far too fast for her to even be able to see the movement. “We will just try again, then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kara...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena sighed and, at the sound, Kara’s eyes went wide when she realized what she had said. “If you want to! I mean-“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The brunette chuckled softly at the panic the other woman was showing and leaned over to cup Kara’s face between her warm, soft hands. “I know, darling. I just need you to calm down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I <em>am</em> calm!” Kara denied quickly, her head bobbing up and down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you’re not,” Lena chuckled again, letting go of her wife’s face to cross her arms in amusement. “You look like my mother just invited us for dinner.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At that, a grimace twisted Kara’s face in an almost laughable way. “Rao, can you imagine that? Can Lillian even cook?” she added as a later thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She can, actually,” the Luthor replied with a nod, satisfied with herself when her mission to distract her wife seemed to work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unable to hold back her laugh from the pure shock on her wife’s face, Lena threw her head back. The sound of her free, delighted laugh filled the small space they were in, ending all tension there might be around them. Smiling, an honest, large smile, Lena looked back at Kara, only to find a twin smile on her face as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. She didn’t cook all the time,” Lena explained softly. “God forbid a Luthor to stay at the kitchen, but she knows how to do a very good lasagna.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still too surprised by the mental image of Lillian Luthor – <em>Lillian Luthor</em> – cooking, Kara only blinked back at her. “... What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know. She did a cake once too. Craziest shit. Lex sneaked me a bite.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was it a chocolate cake?” Kara asked, suddenly very interested in having a glimpse of Lena’s childhood to finish painting the image in her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course not,” Lena scoffed. “Some vanilla cake with whipped cream or something equally boring as that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow,” the blonde mouthed before smiling again. “So, about the lasagna, did you get the recipe?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, she gave me this cooking book with all of the recipes that run on the Luthor family for generations. She gave it to me on our wedding day, right before giving me something blue and her blessing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rolling her eyes to the sarcasm on her voice, Kara nudged Lena’s knee with her own and crossed her arms so they were basically a mirror to each other. “Did Lex get a copy too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you think he invited us for lunch next Sunday?” Lena shrugged, trying to keep her smile at bay. Their bickering was one of her favorite things on any day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, we can’t go next Sunday.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a glint in her eyes for having Kara joking back at her, Lena wondered, “why? Do we already have plans?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kara shook her head, lips pressed tightly together. “Prison visits are Tuesdays and Saturdays.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena gasped, shocked by Kara’s bluntness, and her mouth hung open. Kara barely had time to worry that she went too far on their teasing as the younger woman cough a laugh, clearly trying to hold it back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you just make a jail joke on my family?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After hearing the amusement on the woman’s voice, Kara shrugged. “Just your brother, technically.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Technically, huh?” Lena leaned forward and Kara imitated her move until their noses were brushing and their foreheads were only a few inches apart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The blonde scrunched her nose in the adorable way that Lena always loved to see. “I learned from some fancy folks not to incriminate myself, so now I use these words to take me off the hook.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, Miss Smartass, you know what else is technically ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena laughed this time, putting some space between them, and Kara watched her with confused eyes but with a careless smile. “The test, Kara.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Lena was even done laughing, the blonde had already jumped from her improvised stool and was moving to the sink. One of her hands moved like she was about to grab the stick inside the cup, but she stopped just before her fingers could brush it. Lena watched as she bit her lip and furrowed her brows, looking down at the test like it was a very hard puzzle to solve.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sensing not only her distress but also the fear Kara was trying to hide for days now, Lena also got up. She approached the blonde with soft steps and carefully put her arms around Kara’s waist, hugging her side while her wife dropped her right arm across her shoulders to pull her closer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is it,” Kara whispered after a couple of seconds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is.” Despite it, neither of them moved to grab the test or tried to take a look at it. After another minute, Lena spoke again, “if we don’t look soon, the result might change. It’s affected by the environment the longer it gets exposed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay.” The blonde nodded and her hand reached out again. Like the first time, she couldn’t bring herself to touch it. “What if it didn’t work again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kara’s voice was barely audible and there was enough pain attached to her words that Lena had to squeeze herself harder against her to stop her tears. It had been hard the first time, they had this crazy idea that it would work and they would become parents after the first insemination, but the cold shower they received back was a shock of reality. The second time, they were ready for the disappointment, yet hoped for the best.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Lena not only understood where Kara’s sudden fear came from. She also felt it in her bones.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We will just keep trying,” Lena replied, pressing her lips against Kara’s soft cheek. “And, if we can’t have a baby of our own, we have enough love to bring a child into our family in another way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right,” Kara smiled down at her before pressing her lips into Lena’s forehead. “Are you ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whenever you’re ready, darling.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena rested her head on Kara’s shoulder and watched with eager, bright green eyes while her wife picked up the test between slight trembling fingers and turned for them to look at it. For a second or two, her heart stopped. It sank to her stomach, making her legs go cold and wobbly before it caused a warm feeling to spread all over her body. Her fingers dug into Kara’s waist and it would have probably hurt her if she was human.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Two lines.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena wasn’t seeing double, she was sure. There were two lines, two perfect aligned lines.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy Rao,” Kara breathed in such a state of awe that broke Lena from her own shock. “Holy Rao, Lena. You’re pregnant.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lena raised one hand to hold the test as well, her fingers brushing against Kara’s. “We’re pregnant, Kara. We’re having a baby.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she knew what was happening, Kara let go of the test and curled her strong arms around her torso, lifting Lena from the ground to swirl her around in the small bathroom in a pure state of happiness. Lena laughed, wrapped her legs around Kara’s waist and her arms around her neck. She raised the test to look at it again behind the blonde’s head and tears started filling up in her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re having a baby, Lena!” Kara shouted excitedly against her ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They sure were.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here goes another one! How are you guys liking it this far?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Lena, open the door!”</p><p>What a terrible idea to lock the door, now that Lena thought about it. A terrible fucking idea because she wasn’t sure she could get up and do it. Not when her body seemed to be rebelling against her, shooting pain everywhere. She groaned and rolled around in bed the best she could to try to relieve some of the pain she was feeling. As expected, it had no positive effect besides making her angrier.</p><p>“Lena!”</p><p>“Wait a minute!” she shouted back before gasping for air. People said it would hurt, Sam told her it would hurt, she read it would hurt, but contractions were a thousand times worse than she thought they were going to be. She didn’t want to let her mind go there yet, but if that was the contractions, the labor itself must be a living Hell.</p><p>The contraction took another minute to stop – like she predicted it would – and Lena needed an extra minute to be able to wiggle her way out of the bed and then to walk across the penthouse to open the door for Alex. The agent blinked when she saw Lena standing in front of her in what looked like comfortable large yoga pants and a loose shirt, one hand on her lower back and the other one in her round belly, short breaths, messy hair, her upper body slightly bent and tears rolling freely down her face.</p><p>“Are you okay?”</p><p>“What do you think?” Lena growled back.</p><p>Thankfully, Alex decided to ignore her rudeness. “Okay, let’s get moving and take you to the hospital.” Lena took a step back instead of walking out like Alex expected her to do, so she raised one eyebrow and put her hands on her waist. “Lena?”</p><p>“The maternity bag,” Lena mumbled while looking down at her feet. “And my shoes.”</p><p>“Oh, right.” The redhead darted inside the apartment like a flash – and like she knew where to go, which she didn’t. “Shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes...” she kept whispering to herself.</p><p>Despite the situation she was in, Lena rolled her eyes almost fondly. “My shoes are here, just grab the bag underneath the bed.”</p><p>Without needing any more instruction, Alex ran to the master room down the hall and disappeared. Lena sighed when she tried to bent down to grab her boots by the door, but it was way harder than she initially thought it would be. She had to throw her hips from one side to the other and really bent her knee until she was able to brush her fingers on the leather, and really really push her shoulder to finally grasp it with two fingers.</p><p>She wiggled her way to the couch, where she sat down like a sack of potatoes. Lena stretched her legs in front of herself, but her too large belly got in the way of her sliding her shoes on. She frowned, clearly mad at the situation, before a wave of sadness hit her and she started crying again.</p><p>Kara had left those boots by the door for the exact reason she was trying to put them on. They were comfortable and practical, perfect for a woman in labor to slip on and rush out the door to the hospital. Except that Lena couldn’t do it, not without Kara there to help her.</p><p>Her tears and the distinguish feeling of loneliness came deeper than just her ability to put her shoes on, Lena was aware of that, but there was not much she could do beside hold her boots and cry sitting on her couch.</p><p>“Lena?” Alex’s worried voice took her out of her self pity party, but Lena didn’t look up. She heard as a soft thump hit the floor, as heavy footsteps crossed the living room towards her. Alex squatted in front of her, tilting her head until she caught Lena’s eyes, then offered her a gentle smile. “Let me help you, okay?”</p><p>Again, Lena knew she was talking more than just her shoes. However, the younger woman didn’t say a thing while handing the boots over, neither she spoke when Alex gently lifted one foot and slid a boot on, then the other, before smiling at her again. They didn’t speak, but they both understood.</p><p>“Come on, you have a baby to deliver.”</p><hr/><p>
  <em>32 weeks ago:</em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here, let me help you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chuckling softly to herself, Lena took the popcorn bowl from Kara’s hands, raised herself in her tiptoes, gave her a peck on the lips and winked when she turned around to put the popcorn with the rest of the food at the living room. The blonde, who had been staring at a wall for the last minute, shook her head in a quite confusing stance when she finally took notice of her empty hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena smiled over her shoulder at the blonde. “No problem, dear. Is there anything distracting you in particular?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara watched with a soft smile as her wife finished setting up the living room for Game Night, leaning on the kitchen counter with her arms crossed. “I’m just thinking about tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The brunette hummed gently. “What about tonight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena,” Kara whined and rolled her eyes, but Lena’s chuckle made her smile again. Pushing herself away from the counter, she slowly approached the other woman, who was already waiting for her with her arms open. Once close enough, she allowed Lena to curl her arms around her neck while she placed her hands on her hips. “No jokes, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, darling, why don’t you tell me why you’re worried about tonight so I can help you not to be worried anymore?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not worried,” Kara denied with a shake of her head. “I’m anxious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anxious,” Lena repeated slowly like she was rolling the word on her mouth to feel it. “Okay. Do you think anyone won’t be happy for us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! I’m sure they will all be thrilled for us. It’s just...” she sighed, rolling her shoulders back to try to dissipate some of the tension. “I don’t know. I just feel like... like I should tell Eliza and Alex before, you know? It’s not that I don’t want everybody to find out, because I do! But they’re my family and it feels...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrong?” Lena offered with a sideways grin. “I can’t say I understand, darling. The last thing I want is my family knowing about our baby, but I get it. They’re the most important people in the world for you, it’s okay to feel like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>You</em> are the most important people to me,” Kara whispered, leaning in until their foreheads touched. “You and bubble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shorter woman rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no. You’re not calling our baby like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, Lena,” Kara started, her lips parting in a huge smile, “they’re a cute bubble right now!” She was halfway convinced to let Lena go to grab the book she had been reading for the past week to show Lena that she was, in fact, correct, but nothing in the world would make her let go of her wife. Not even the delight of being right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You try to keep with this and we will kick you out,” the woman threaten more in amusement than fury like she was trying to pull it to be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t!” The blonde laughed happily now that the weight on her chest eased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena kissed the corner of her lips softly, cupping her face and running her thumbs on Kara’s bottom lip after a very dramatic eye roll “Call Eliza and tell her we will travel to Midvale next weekend for a visit. I will ask Sam to convince Alex to come with us and we can tell them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really, really,” Lena pulled her face closer for another kiss before pushing her away gently. “Now, go get us some games that we can play tonight with our friends without starting any wars. We don’t have to tell them tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But can I, like, make Alex think something is going on?” Kara’s playful tone echoed throughout the apartment as she made her way to the guest room to pick up the games they let stocked there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have fun in the weirdest ways, Kara.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took Alex five minutes to guess what was going on and Kara was not amused by it, especially because she shouted the question – “Holy fuck, you’re pregnant, Lena?!” – in front of everybody and then there was no coming back from that. Kara made her promise not to tell Eliza a thing until their lunch next week, but Alex was too busy pointing out the flaws in her sister’s plan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I offered her scotch and she said no. Sam offered her wine and she said no! How did you expect me not to know something was going on?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara huffed, crossing her arms. “It’s not my fault my wife is a drunkard,” she mumbled to herself while looking away with a frown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Alex mocked. “My police training had nothing to do with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, for a good measure, they stuck their tongues out at each other.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alex: There are two things in life you always have to have nearby: Friends and scotch</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Lena, you need to breathe, okay? I know it hurts, but-“</p><p>
  <span>Before Alex could get the last comforting words out, she was interrupted by a growl that nearly made her step back. If the sound itself wasn’t scary enough, the view would do it. Having the one and only Lena Luthor glare at you like <em>that</em> was enough to send someone’s soul to Hell and back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know shit, Danvers,” the woman replied in a dangerously low tone. Her knuckles were white where they were gripping at the bars beside the bed. “You have no idea how much this hurts!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apparently, Alex had lost every sense of self-preservation she once had because she kept talking instead of running back to the mountains or somewhere safer. “No, I don’t. But I know you need to calm down.” Which was true, Alex tried to path her own back. She learned that in Med school and, sure, maybe she didn’t graduate, but that was Hysterical Patient 101. “Panicking will do no good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alex, shut the fuck up!” That assembled more a scream than a growl, probably loud enough for the entire floor to hear. Maybe the entire hospital.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even so, Alex took another chance. “I will ignore that.” She tried to smile at the other woman, but Lena’s eyes rolled to the back of her head when another shot of pain striked her body and Alex sighed instead. “Look, Lena, the contractions are getting worse, I get it, but you need to breathe and-“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want Kara,” the younger woman wailed between clenched teeth. Her face was slowly fading from pain to a sad stance and Alex’s features softened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know, honey. I’m sorry.” She was. She truly was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, Alex.” Definitely crying now, Lena turned her head to look at the redhead, big, green eyes pleasing at her, begging. “I want Kara.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex approached the bed until she could rest her hand on the protection besides Lena’s. “I’m sorry, Lena.” She didn’t know what else she could say. She couldn’t get Kara there and she was so sorry about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It hurts so bad,” Lena wailed, moving her head from one side to another slowly, lips quivering almost pitifully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just breathe, Lena. It will be okay.” Alex felt mad at the world. It wasn’t fair. The Universe was being so unfair with them – with her sister, and Lena, and herself, and the unborn baby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you hold my hand, please?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex tried not to think about how bad Lena must be feeling that she actually asked for a source of comfort, especially from her. They were friends, of course, sisters even, but the brunette only accepted comfort from one person and one person only. That same person who was missing the biggest moment of their life because Alex screwed up and couldn’t find a way to fix it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try not to break it,” Alex joked lightly while wrapping her long fingers around Lena’s sweaty hand. From all she knew about births, they would be there for hours before anything happened and, during that time, there was nothing else to do other than try to make Lena’s life the easiest that ever existed. The only way she could think of, sadly, was to make bad jokes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you, Alex.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that, the former director of the DEO smiled. Lena would be fine. They would be fine. It was okay.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>32 weeks ago:</em>
</p><p>
  <span>Turns out that Kara’s obsession with maternity books and baby books and pregnancy books and all sorts of books about pregnancy and babies brushed off into Lena after another week. Lena knew nothing, or close to nothing, about bearing a child, and it was starting to get into her insecure side when Kara would calmly throw a random fact towards her, just another thing she had no idea about. So she decided to keep up and devour every book Kara had already read – which, with her superpowers, was quite a few.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s how she decided to occupy herself after Kara got called away to a mission. She made her green tea, no sugar, put some heavy blankets on their bed and found a comfortable space where she could rest her back on the headboard while she read. <em>Mommy and Baby: a guide</em>. Lena had a thing or two to say about the title of these maternity books, but she was going to keep them mostly to herself, although Alex would probably share a laugh with her. They had a similar sense of humor, after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had just reached chapter three when she heard a soft thump across the apartment. The balcony door closing, she knew that sound. Sure enough, about ten seconds later, Kara’s head popped on the door. There was a huge smile on her pink lips and her cape had fallen to her side just enough for her wife to see it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had been sharing a nice dinner before she got called away and they literally only had half an hour together since Lena herself got home late from work, so the CEO’s heart did that quick jump when she saw her wife again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I put out a plate for you in the over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Already found it!” Kara informed her. “I will heat it and be back!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her wife was gone before Lena could finish her protest, “no food in bed, Kara!”, but she could hear her giggles in the distance and knew she wouldn’t be heard on the subject. “And no heat vision!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Too late!” Kara called back, even though it hadn’t been more than five seconds since she left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena rolled her eyes, deciding to return her reading, when the bedroom door finally open. Kara stood by the door, her spaghetti dangerously balanced in the plate being hold by her left hand while she used the right one to hold her fork. Her feet were bare and she had a small smirk on her face like she was waiting for Lena to complain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See? Not in bed,” she teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re infuriating,” Lena mumbled lowly, pulling the book closer to her face so Kara wouldn’t see her grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a fair attempt, but the blonde chuckled nonetheless, so she knew she had been caught. "You know, something really interesting happened today."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really?” Lena raised one eyebrow. “What was it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I keep my ears out for your heartbeat all day, every day, you know?” As she spoke, Kara finished off her food and put the plate down on the nightstand, ignoring Lena’s glare when she did it. “I like to hear it so I know you're okay, safe and sound, even when I'm across town fighting an alien that looked like a marshmallow.” Which was one of the weirdest things she ever did because it looked like the ghost from Ghostbusters and it made her want to laugh really bad. “So there I was, punching this guy, tracking down your heartbeat so I knew you were safe at home, when I heard something that took me out of guard. I almost let the marshmallow guy throw me across town."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara had finally moved to bed the way she intended on doing, the super-suit still on as she kneeled on the mattress beside her wife. Lena still had to look away from her book again since last glaring at her, but there was a faint blush on her cheeks that indicated she did not know about Kara’s little action to make sure she was safe. It still took Kara out of guard every time she took notice of how Lena acted when she showed her any type of affection.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What did you hear?" The brunette flipped the page from her book and did her best not to sigh to give away how she felt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead of answering, Kara placed her hand on Lena's still flat stomach, eyes never leaving the soft lines of her face and sharp jaws that made her heart skip a beat every single time. She saw as Lena bit her bottom lip and blinked a couple of times to hold back tears that threatened to fall suddenly. Kara, smiling as big as ever, leaned over to press a kiss on her forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I still can't believe you're pregnant, even now, that I can hear the heartbeat," she admitted quietly, her lips brushing on the soft, pale skin at every word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena’s intake of breath made her entire body shook and the book trembled in her hands. "How does it sound?" Her voice was a whisper like she was afraid to speak too loudly and scare one of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara chuckled, ducking her head. "Like they are running a marathon.” She leaned back and closed her eyes so she could concentrate on the noises inside the room. The city was loud outside and her own heart was beating way too fast, but she closed her attention in the two heartbeats in front of her. The most important sounds in her life. “It’s so fast and it has no rhythm whatsoever, but it's so strong. <em>So strong</em>."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And it was. It didn’t sound quite like the ultrasounds she heard in movies and Kara had never paid attention to any other baby heartbeat before, but their little bubble sounded so offbeat from Lena’s own heart. It wasn’t a matching sound and it was almost like it was a stranger body inside her wife, but it was the most beautiful sound she ever heard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she first listened to it, literally with her knuckles pushing the side of the alien face, Kara had gasped so loudly that the alien himself paused to see if she was okay because he wasn’t even touching her. With wide eyes and a hanging mouth, Kara managed to whisper a chocked “I can hear my baby.” And maybe it appealed to his soft side because he allowed her to have a moment to herself before punching her back. Which was fine, honestly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena also smiled, watery and lovingly, and tilted her chin up so she could kiss her wife's lips. "So that's definitely your kid."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Our kid," Kara corrected gently, pressing another kiss on the brunette's forehead before she gently pushed Lena from the headboard and back to her pillow, taking the forgotten book from her limp fingers with a wink. "Now, you go to sleep while I have a little chat with this little one."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wiggled her body until she could rest her head on Lena's stomach, right below her chest, and then placed a hand flat against the woman's belly as an adoring smile turned her lips up and made her eyes shine. Seeing what her wife was doing, Lena grinned as she started to run her long fingers through blonde locks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, there, little one,” the hero started in a soft voice that was reserved to Lena since the first time they met. “I know you can't hear me yet, but that's okay because I will say this every day for the rest of your life, anyway," her voice immediately acquired a high pitch noise due to the lump on her throat. "I love you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A single tear slid down Lena's cheek but she ignored it in order to keep caressing her wife's hair. Hearing Kara say those words at her were already emotional enough, something she wasn’t used to hearing, much less feel, even though they had been together for so long now. However, having her wife saying those words to their child, their baby, she wasn’t sure she ever felt so much before in her life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Rao, I love you so much already and you're just a small bean for now.” Kara raised one hand and brought her index and middle fingers just a few inches apart, like she had read in one of the books, and smiled to herself. Above her, Lena also smiled. “I can't wait to meet you. I promise I will love and protect you and your mommy for the rest of our lives. You two are the best part of my life, even if you're not even born yet. Try not to give mommy too much work, okay? She's a strong woman, but she needs to rest and I don't want to see her suffering. And just know that we waited for you for a long time and we already love you so much, little one. So, <em>so</em> much."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena allowed the silence to fall on them for the next few minutes as she did her best to hold back her tears. Still running her hand down soft, blonde locks, she got stuck on the feeling of Kara’s warm palm resting on her belly. "So, I'm mommy?" she asked after a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The best of the bests, babe," Kara replied before pressing a soft kiss on her stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena hummed, both in pleasure and because of the tickles her wife’s lips caused. "Is there a Kryptonian word for mom?" she wondered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hero nodded, her other hand falling to the crest on her chest without her realizing it. "<em>Je-ju</em>."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well," Lena placed her hand on top of Kara's in her stomach, their wedding rings touching. "Your <em>je-ju</em> is late for bed, so maybe we should all go to sleep, huh?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara nodded but didn't move to occupy her usual position as Lena's personal pillow. Instead, she curled her arm around Lena's waist and rested her head on her lower belly, keeping their fingers intertwined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you comfortable?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena smiled and squeezed her hand. "Very."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good," Kara turned her head so she could place a kiss in a small patch of pale skin on Lena's hip. "Good night, babe, I love you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good night, darling. I love you also."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Kara moved her lips higher to the point she could hear a loud and unsteady heartbeat coming from Lena's belly. "Good night, little bean, I love you."</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You will never guess what happened today,” Sam’s nonchalant comment drew Lena from her thoughts and she slowly turned her head to face her best friend. The tall brunette was sitting in an uncomfortable chair beside her hospital bed, cellphone in hand while she clearly occupied herself with a game by the sounds of it.</p><p>Lena had to battle really hard not to scoff. “What?”</p><p>Sam smirked, aware of her lack of interest in whatever story she wished to share, but continued regardless. “Ruby asked me if she was old enough to have a boyfriend.”</p><p>“What?!”</p><p>The CFO of L-Corp chuckled at the shocked reaction from her longest friend and dropped the phone back into her lap when she lost again. “I know!” Sam crossed her arms and huffed. “She’s fifteen already, can you believe it?”</p><p>Lena shook her head because no, she couldn’t believe her best friend’s daughter was <em>fifteen already</em>. “What did you told her?” It was an interesting question. Sam got her first boyfriend when she was fifteen and got pregnant with Ruby when she was sixteen, so it had to be a hard subject to approach in the Arias household.</p><p>To her surprise, Sam shrugged. “I told her I would have to meet him first, but that it’s her choice.” Then, a slow smirk turned the left corner of her mouth up and the mirth glint in her eyes was too much to ignore. “Of course Alex scared that idea away, so I think we’re safe for now.”</p><p>Despite her own situation, Lena huffed a laugh. “What did Alex say?”</p><p>“That she’s authorized to carry a gun,” Sam laughed. “And then she did that puppy eyes that made Ruby afraid of disappointing her.”</p><p>“Oh, yes, the puppy eyes,” Lena rolled her own eyes at that and they shared a chuckle. The Danvers’ puppy eyes were a legend among the superfriends. An image of her wife giving her one of those after asking to have pizza for the second night in a roll flashed through her eyes and Lena felt the lump rising in her throat.</p><p>Sam must have sensed the shift in her mood because she leaned forward to place her hand on top of Lena’s on the bed. “Hey.”</p><p>She didn’t need to say anything else and Lena offered her a sad, but thankful smile when she squeezed her friend’s fingers. “Where did Alex go?”</p><p>Knowing Lena for over ten years now, Sam could identify a subject deflect better than anyone else. Considering the circumstances, she decided to allow it this time. “I asked her to go fetch you some ice.”</p><p>“Ice?”</p><p>“Yes, it’s supposed to help,” the CFO shrugged as she leaned back on her chair, crossing her legs and looking far too satisfied with herself.</p><p>Lena arched one eyebrow. “Really?”</p><p>“It won’t, but she was fussing too much and it will stop you from screaming when the next contraction comes.” Picking up her phone again, she shook her head. “And, believe me, you <em>will</em> want to scream.”</p><p>When Alex returned, holding a gigantic cup filled with ice cubs, Sam threw her an amused glare that made Lena chuckle to herself. The former DEO-director hand her the cup and rushed to press a kiss on Sam’s forehead, clearly trying to find a way to keep herself busy.</p><p>“Do you still want to go through that?” Sam asked while pointing to her friend with her chin.</p><p>Alex looked over her shoulder, both hands resting on the chair armrests so she could lean over her, before she chuckled and looked back at her girlfriend. “I thought you said you were fine with having only Ruby.”</p><p>Sam smiled. “I am.”</p><p>“Good, because I think I’m having second thoughts now that I’m having a closer look at it.”</p><p>“Go fuck both of you,” Lena grumbled from the bed and gritted her teeth when the next contraction started.</p><p>“Ice cub, honey!” Sam remembered her while jumping from the chair to hold her hand.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>27 weeks ago:</em>
</p><p>“Hey, ponytail!”</p><p>Kara groaned to herself when she stopped short on her tracks, the elevator button just a few inches from her fingers, and turned around to see Snapper marching towards her with his usual grimace.</p><p>“Where do you think you’re going?”</p><p>She should have left from her usual Supergirl’s exit, Kara thought about it. With a sigh, she crossed her arms, feeling her button-down shirt tightening around her biceps. “Lena has...”</p><p>“Ah, Ms. Luthor!” He scoffed, finally stopping in front of her. There was now a small crowd watching them by now and Kara did her best not to fidget under her boss’s gaze. “She’s always the center-piece of your actions, I should’ve known.”</p><p>Kara frowned, clearly displeased by his rudeness. “It’s Mrs. Danvers, now, actually.” She wanted to point out he was invited for the wedding but bit back the words just in time. “Luthor-Danvers.”</p><p>Snapper waved his hand around like he didn’t give a damn about it – which he probably didn’t – and sighed. “I have a conference you need to attend.”</p><p>“But-“ Kara groaned. “But I told you I had a doctor appointment this afternoon.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he started, raising his eyebrows, “are you sick, ponytail?”</p><p>She wasn’t fooled by his fake concern, but the blonde pretended not to notice it when she used an overly sweet voice to reply to him. “No, Mr. Carr. Today is Lena’s first ultrasound and I’m going with her.” Kara avoided saying that she ‘wanted to’ or ‘had the intention to’ because he wasn’t going to stop her from seeing their baby for the first time, not even if he threatened her job.</p><p>That actually gave him a pause. “Oh,” he breathed. Then, to her surprise, his grimace increased. “What are you still doing here then, ponytail?”</p><p>“What?” Kara blinked in surprise.</p><p>He shooed her with his hand, already turning to leave. “Don’t be late. Doctors hate that.”</p><p>Lena laughed when she told her the whole story while they walked, hand in hand, inside the waiting room. “Snapper has four kids himself,” she commented. “I think he has a soft spot for kids.”</p><p>“Still,” the blonde mumbled. “Can’t believe he let me go without complaints.”</p><p>Sitting at one of the chairs, Lena waited until Kara was comfortable by her side to lean over and press a kiss into her cheek. There was another couple in the waiting room and the CEO wasn’t one to practice much PDA, but she just couldn’t help it when her wife was looking so confused and so cute.</p><p>“He might be your boss, but I’m <em>his</em> boss,” Lena remembered her with only a hint of pride in her voice. “I would have to have a very long conversation with him if he didn’t allow you to come to see your baby.”</p><p>Kara turned to look at her with the same dreamy smile she had been using since they found out Lena was pregnant. “Our baby.”</p><p>“Our baby,” the brunette corrected herself with a fond eye roll. It’s not like she didn’t know it was their baby, she was the one carrying them after all, but the words still sounded foreign in her mouth. Foreign, but not unwanted.</p><p>“Mrs. and Mrs. Danvers?” A nurse called them gently from one of the corners, a door open behind her that lead to a large corridor with the doctors’ offices. “Dr. Arnie will see you now.”</p><p>Like she had been doing since first hearing the name of Lena’s gynecologist, Kara chuckled to herself as she got up and reached out for her wife’s hand. Lena rolled her eyes again to the blonde’s childish behavior but grabbed her hand with a satisfied grin when they started following the young nurse to the ultrasound room.</p><p>“Put this on and get comfortable,” the woman said while handing her a hospital tunic. “The doctor will be here in a few.”</p><p>The door closed quietly behind her and Lena tried not to cringe at the sudden coldness that rushed the room. Wanting to distract herself from the nervousness, she turned around so her back was turned to the blonde, and smiled over her shoulder. “Can you help me?”</p><p>Kara shuffled forward in a rush, almost stumbling in her own feet, and Lena giggled at how eager her wife was to help her out of her clothes. Although not for the usual reason, but still eager. The hero pulled the zipper down to her lower back, then eased the black straps out of her shoulders in a soft caress. Once she could pull the dress off, Lena took a step away from her, not without throwing her a wink first.</p><p>She was already lying in the cold, narrow exam bed when Dr. Arnie walked in. Dr. Arnie was a woman in her late fifties who had been Lena’s doctor since she first arrived at National City and they shared a gleeful greeting while she set up the equipment.</p><p>“This first ultrasound is very important,” the doctor said when she saw the curiosity in Kara’s eyes. “It will help us to determine if your placenta is normal to keep up with the pregnancy, if the embryo is safely accommodated in your uterus and we will be able to see how big is your baby already.” She pulled out a wand-shaped object from the equipment. “This is a transductor. It will allow us to see inside your pelvic cavity to answer our questions. A transvaginal ultrasound is the most recommended in the first weeks of pregnancy, but, don’t worry, this is probably going to be the last time you have a date with this guy.”</p><p>The easy joke, although weird, made Lena chuckle a little and she relaxed back on the bed. She read about it and she knew how the first ultrasound would be like, but she took a glance at Kara to notice her wife had no clue about it, so she reached out for her hand and squeezed it. The blonde, hosting a deep frown, turned to look at her and received a soft smile in return, relaxing too.</p><p>“Are you ready, Lena?” The doctor asked, already positioned at the end of the bed, where Lena’s legs were wide open, her lower half covered by a thin sheet that did nothing to stop her from feeling cold.</p><p>The CEO nodded, feeling a bit nervous, but the knowing look on the doctor’s eyes and the reassuring squeeze on her hand put her at ease and Lena fell back on the bed, her eyes staring at the white ceiling above her. She did her best to relax when the cold, hard, weird-shaped equipment was positioned inside her, her breaths coming a little short and sharp, and she barely noticed when Kara bent over to press her lips to the side of her head.</p><p>“You okay?” she whispered.</p><p>Lena sucked in a breath but nodded nonetheless. “Just... weird.”</p><p>Kara hummed, squeezing her hand again, and pressed a kiss into her temple. Before she could say anything else though, Dr. Arnie cleaned her throat and turned the small screen at them. It was greyish, not very defined or clear, and neither of them had any idea of what they were looking at until the doctor pointed to a small smudge shaped like a bean.</p><p>“See this?” she asked with a smile. “This is your baby.”</p><p>Kara gasped, almost choking on her own saliva, her other hand flying to her chest when her heart skipped a beat. Lena’s reaction was much quieter, but there was no hiding the tears that filled her green eyes. The doctor offered her another smile before pressing a few buttons. A thin yellow line appeared on the screen before it was gone.</p><p>“They’re looking great. It’s where it’s supposed to be, they’re in the right size, your placenta looks perfect.” Dr. Arnie pressed a few more buttons, apparently making some notes and taking screenshots of the images. “Congratulations, it’s a perfectly healthy baby!”</p><p>Feeling her chest swollen with emotions, Lena tugged at Kara’s hand until her wife was hovering above her again. She brought her free hand to the back of the blonde’s neck and tilted her head up until their lips met in a soft kiss. Kara was clearly crying by now, fat tears rolling down her cheeks, but she chuckled quietly against her wife’s lips when her own emotions rose.</p><p>“I love you,” she whispered.</p><p>Lena nodded, her fingers playing with the short hairs of her neck. “I love you too.”</p><p>They were interrupted by the sound of a loud, out of rhythm and strong heart. Their eyes turned back at the screen and Kara chuckled. The sound was nothing like she could hear with her own ears, technology had nothing on Kryptonians powers under the yellow sun, but it still did things to her to be able to hear their baby's heartbeat. Especially because it was the first time Lena was hearing it too.</p><p>Blue eyes moved back at her wife’s face and she watched as fascination washed over her features and the tears finally dropped from the corner of her eyes. Lena moved one hand to her mouth to muffle her gasp, but kept staring at the screen with wide eyes.</p><p>“A very strong heart too,” the doctor commented with a firm nod. “For now, I can say there’s nothing to worry about. It looks like a healthy pregnancy, but we will keep our eyes out. I want you back in two weeks to see how things are going, just to make sure everything is fine. Meanwhile,” she offered Lena a sympathetic smile while she removed the equipment from her, then turned off the machine and got up, “I’m going to ask the nurse to print out those images for you guys so you can rub in your friends faces how good looking your baby is.”</p><p>Kara laughed like it was the best joke she ever heard, but she was brushing it off on Alex’s face not two hours later while Lena rolled her eyes fondly, leaning against the sink while drinking her water and watching them.</p><p>“You know,” Sam commented from her place at the table where she was peeling potatoes for dinner while Ruby stared at Lena’s ultrasound copy. “Ruby wasn’t as cute when she was this young.”</p><p>“Mom!” the teenager exclaimed in shock but laughed when she turned to stare at her mother and found her fighting back a smile.</p><p>“See!” Kara shouted from the living room, taking the photo from Alex’s grip to stare at it again with that soft smile. “My kid is better looking than yours!”</p><p>Alex rolled her eyes, although she could see her sister was just joking around to tease Ruby about it. “Yes, well. I didn’t have to change any diapers, so who won?”</p><p>Ruby’s and Sam’s laugh could be heard from across town, probably, but Kara’s pout was too funny to ignore. Shaking her head fondly, Lena walked over to her wife and pressed a kiss on top of her head. Kara’s grimace melted away when she threw her head back to stare up at the younger woman.</p><p>“I’m putting you on diapers duty if you keep telling my goddaughter wasn’t a cute embryo,” she teased as she took advantage of the new position to press a kiss on Kara’s forehead too.</p><p>“Thank you,” Ruby shouted from the kitchen.</p><p>However, the Kryptonian's attention was drawn back to the pair of emerald eyes staring down at her. “I will change all the diapers if you start calling them bubble.”</p><p>Lena rolled her eyes and pushed herself away from the couch to stroll back to the kitchen. “Not going to happen.”</p><p>“But look!” Kara waved the photo around with a shit eating grin. “It looks like a bubble!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So... How are you liking this so far? Let me know!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Time was coming, she could feel it.</p><p>It’s not like her body wasn’t giving her hints that it was about to happen – because it has and for the past week – but it was starting to feel more and more real. The obstetrician Dr. Arnie had indicated was already lingering around, having checked on her twice in the last hour, and Lena was almost giving in and accepting the pain medication she had been offered. When they talked about home birth, things had been planned differently.</p><p>But, again, everything was supposed to be going differently. Kara was supposed to be there, not Alex, not Sam, not anyone else.</p><p>“Lena,” Alex called gently from her place holding Lena’s hand. She had stopped complaining about her crushed bones when it became clear Lena would have a very long night ahead of her.</p><p>Despite the initial fast progression, things had slowed down once Lena got into the hospital. Like, really slowed down. It was already morning, the sun had crept from the closed blinds, and Lena was exhausted after so many hours contorting in pain. She wasn’t sure she had enough strength to push when it was finally time to do so.</p><p>“What?” Lena barked back in an angry tone.</p><p>“I just...” Alex paused to take a deep breath. “I just wanted to ask you if you want me here. I could ask Sam to stay with you or if you wish to be alone...”</p><p>“No,” Lena shook her head, her eyes falling closed. “You... You should be here. It’s your niece.”</p><p>Alex nodded to herself since the other woman couldn’t see her. “Okay, I will stay.”</p><p>“Thank you,” the brunette whispered under her breath and the small sound was enough confirmation to Alex.</p><p>The younger woman was scared and she didn’t want to be alone during the most important and terrifying moment of her life. And Alex had promised Kara she would take care of her wife when she couldn’t, she would help her and be or do anything she needed her to be or do. If Lena tried to send her away, she would give her space, but keep herself close enough to help if needed. Thankfully, Lena seemed to notice she would need the support, even if it wasn’t coming from the person she wanted it to come from.</p><p>Like she could hear her thoughts, Lena sighed. “She should be here.”</p><p>A lump rose to the redhead's throat and she had to swallow it down twice before speaking and, even then, it sounded weak. “I know. She would never be able to forgive herself for missing it. I’m sorry she isn’t here, Lena.”</p><p>The woman bit her bottom lip when it started to tremble too much, her eyes remaining stubbornly closed. She didn’t offer a reply and Alex didn’t push the subject. Kara had been a dangerous subject in the last couple of months, to say the least, and her absence even more, so she allowed her sister-in-law to sulk into her own sadness without another word.</p><p>“Tell me what I can do to help,” Alex almost begged a minute later.</p><p>“Just punch me in the head and knock me out,” Lena replied with a grunt.</p><p>The former director, now vigilant, smiled to herself. “Ask me again in five minutes and I might do it.”</p><p>Lena opened her mouth to reply, but the bedroom door opened before she could, and her eyes flew open to watch the new occupant with wide, eager, scared eyes.</p><p>“Are you ready, Mrs. Luthor?”</p><p>“Danvers,” Lena corrected, her voice sounding out of breath when another contraction cut through her.</p><p>By her side, Alex squeezed her hand and she thought maybe things would turn out alright in the end.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>21 weeks ago:</em>
</p><p>“The table is officially closed!” Alex announced when she snatched the piece of paper from the round coffee table where they were all gathered out a second before.</p><p>“I changed my mind!” Nia shouted with a pout, trying to reach for the paper, but the redhead got up and, for a good measure, raised her arm above her head so no one could take it from her.</p><p>“No more changes, Nal!” she declared firmly. “What is decided, can’t be changed.”</p><p>“That was said much more dramatically than it was necessary,” Lena said under her breath at the rim of her glass, eyeing her friends with amusement and fondness.</p><p>By her side, Kara chuckled, throwing her arm around her wife’s shoulder so she could cuddle against her. “You should have heard her when we were sixteen and I made fun of a poster on her wall.”</p><p>Lena also chuckled, turning her head so she could nuzzle up against the blonde’s neck, the tip of her nose touching the soft skin as her lips spread on a largely satisfied smirk. Upon seeing her sister and her wife getting all cozy again, Alex rolled her eyes and put her hands on her waist while she stared at them with faked annoyance.</p><p>“Can you two keep your hands off each other for five minutes? You have guests!”</p><p>Kara raised her hands in defeat, but Lena had the opposite reaction when she curled her arms around the blonde’s waist and buried her face in the crook of her neck. The hero laughed softly at that and looked over at her sister like she was saying ‘what can I do?’ before wrapping her arms around Lena.</p><p>“Come on, Danvers,” Sam teased from her place on the other couch, holding the whiteboard on her lap. There was a line separating the board in two halves, on one side the word ‘GIRL’ was written in green sharpie and, on the other side, ‘BOY’ had been written in red under Ruby’s insistence. “Tell us already.”</p><p>Alex tried to glare at her girlfriend but ended up smiling like the lovesick puppy she was. When her friends started to tease her, she was fast to pull the paper close to her face so she could start the count.</p><p>“Brainy, boy.”</p><p>Sam wrote the man’s name down on the boy’s side and Ruby leaned over the back of the couch to watch her mother work. In her own couch, Lena, who had closed her eyes at some point, pressed a kiss on the side of Kara’s neck as she tried not to laugh at her friend’s absurd.</p><p>“Nia, girl. James, boy. J’onn, girl.” Alex paused to allow Sam to write everything down. “Ruby, girl. Sam, girl. I think it’s a girl.” She pulled out her phone. “I asked mom, she said it’s a girl. Lucy, boy.”</p><p>“Jess, girl,” Lena added with a playful tone as she finally added some space between her and her wife. She understood now why her assistant had randomly texted her the single word earlier that day.</p><p>“Girl has won by far,” Sam announced happily.</p><p>“It would, yes,” Alex nodded, “if I haven’t done the job of asking more people.”</p><p>Kara groaned, throwing her head back on the couch. “How many people had you asked, Alex?”</p><p>Instead of answering her, Alex decided to give more scores for Sam to write down. “Barry, boy. Iris, girl. Sara, boy. Ava, boy. Kate, boy.”</p><p>“Geez,” Kara whistled. “Did you asked all of them?”</p><p>“Clark, boy. Lois, girl.”</p><p>When Alex didn’t provide any other names, Sam finally drew a line in the end and started counting. “Boy has eight votes and girl has nine.”</p><p>“Now, you two!” Nia declared, pointing at the happy couple cuddling at the couch.</p><p>Despite having her friends expectant eyes on her, Lena shook her head. “I’m not participating in this bet.”</p><p>Nia groaned. “But, Lena! You possibly know already!”</p><p>“I have no clue what you’re talking about. I have no weird, supernatural feeling about this.” Lena chuckled. “Whoever said a mother always knows is a fool.”</p><p>“It’s based on thin pieces of evidence,” Kara provided. “Everyone has a fifty percent chance of getting it right, so when a mother gets it right people always goes ‘of course you knew, you felt it in your heart’, but, really, it’s just a fair guess, like everyone else.”</p><p>“Nerd,” Alex mumbled under her breath, although she had a playful grin in her lips. “Talking math.”</p><p>Kara stuck her tongue out at her sister. “I’m not giving my opinion either, just so you know.”</p><p>“Can we go now?” Lena asked with barely hidden amusement. She still couldn’t believe her friends had gathered in her apartment on a Saturday morning before her appointment with the doctor to bet on her baby’s gender.</p><p>“The losers buy the food for the next game night,” Alex reminded everyone. “And who’s not here will just have to deal with the fact that they were wrong.”</p><p>“Which, for you, is more than a punishment than spending your money,” Sam commented with an eye roll as she got up from the couch to push her girlfriend out. “Come on, we should let our ladies get to the doctor if we wish to find out who’s right.”</p><p>One by one their friends leave, wishing them good luck and offering hugs, and then the two remaining women share a laugh from their friends' shenanigans. It wasn’t until they were already on the way to the doctor that Kara shyly whispered that she thought it was a girl.</p><p>Lena reached from her hand across the gear and squeezed her fingers as she kept her eyes on the street. “I’m still not going to say what I think.”</p><p>Kara moaned like she was truly disappointed by it, but she had a huge smile when she pulled Lena’s hand to her lips to kiss her knuckles. “What if they were twins?” she asked suddenly. “Imagine how much harder their bet would be.”</p><p>“Imagine how much harder my pregnancy would be!” Lena corrected indignant, drawing a wholeheartedly laugh from her wife. “Kara Zor-El, you better think about me the next time you joke like that!”</p><p>The blonde threw her head back, her laugh filling the car and ringing like bells into Lena’s ears. It wasn’t always that Lena used her real name, but it always made her feel a little giddy. Even more so when she remembered Lena had also adopted her last name when they got married. They used Luthor-Danvers for public reasons, but they both knew the truth and that was what mattered.</p><p>“No hoping for twins next time then?”</p><p>“No planning the next time!” Lena exclaimed. “We’re not even done with this time!”</p><p>Sobering up a little, Kara shook her head. “You don’t wish to have more kids?”</p><p>“Darling,” Lena started carefully after reading the tone her wife had used. “I wish nothing more than filling Earth with our babies, but we’re just starting the second trimester.”</p><p>“Yeah, I know. Sorry,” Kara sighed. “It’s just...”</p><p>Upon hearing the hesitance in her wife’s words, Lena squeezed her hand again, harder this time. “You can tell me, darling.”</p><p>“I know,” the blonde smiled softly at her because, yes, she knew she could tell anything at Lena and not get judged, but it was still hard to speak certain things at times. “I never thought I would have a family,” she confessed quietly. “Not after... Not after Krypton exploded and I got sent here. I had the Danvers and I will always love them, but I never thought I would build my own family one day. And this baby is not even Kryptonian, but... sometimes I can’t help but feel like it is.”</p><p>“We will teach them everything about Krypton, Kara,” Lena promised firmly. “It will be like they have lived there as well and they might not have Kryptonian blood, but they will be as Kryptonian as you.”</p><p>Eyes filled with tears, the blonde gave her a thankful smile. “You’re too good to be true.”</p><p>“I’m definitely real,” Lena replied with a wink. “And we will come back to that talk of having seven billion babies in the future, but, for now, we need to concentrate on the one that it’s already on the way.”</p><p>Kara giggled and finally took in their surrounding, noticing that Lena had parked outside the clinic without her realizing it. She exited the car, quickly rushing to the other side to help Lena out, even if she knew it would earn her a stink glare and a mumbled ‘I’m not invalid’. She ignored both, smiling down at Lena when she intertwined their fingers so they could walk inside the building, and her wife rolled her eyes at her.</p><p>It was Saturday, the place was empty, and, sooner than expected, they were already in the exam room with the hospital gawn rolled up Lena’s slightly round stomach while Dr. Arnie moved a wand around her belly.</p><p>“I guess someone is being very cooperative today,” she chuckled. “Someone decided to really turn around and open up their legs so there would be no doubt.”</p><p>Kara also laughed, one hand resting on Lena’s shoulder and the other one fiddling with her glasses. “So, you can tell us?”</p><p>“You want to know?” Dr. Arnie asked. “Some couple chose to wait until birth.”</p><p>“Rao, if I don’t come home with an answer, there will be a group of people waiting to kill me.”</p><p>Lena glared at her wife’s slip of the foreign word, but Dr. Arnie apparently didn’t notice it as she laughed and shook her head. “Yes, I can bet. Okay, well, brace yourselves.”</p><p>Even though it was silly, Kara felt her breath catch in the back of her throat as she waited, expectant, to know. Lena, looking much less affected than her, placed her hand on top of Kara’s on her shoulder in silent comfort, biting her bottom lip.</p><p>“Congratulations, this female household is getting another girl to rule on it.”</p><p>“It’s a girl?” Kara asked in complete awe, wide blue eyes staring at the doctor like she had just become Rao herself.</p><p>Dr. Arnie laughed, throwing an amused glance at the pregnant woman, before nodding. “Yes, Mrs. Danvers. It’s a girl,” she confirmed.</p><p>Kara had fainted only a handful of times since her pot landed on Earth, but she felt really close to doing it again, so she pulled the chair from the corner of the room she had been ignoring all along to sit. She needed to sit. Her legs felt like jelly out of sudden and she wasn’t ready to deal with that.</p><p>“You okay?” Lena asked by her side, eyeing her worriedly. Kara nodded distractedly, blue eyes glued at the screen.</p><p>Sensing the feeling changing around the room, Dr. Arnie froze the image on the screen before putting the wand away and getting up. “I will give you two a moment. Come meet me in the office when you’re ready.”</p><p>Lena rolled down the gawn to cover herself once they were alone and turned her head to look at her wife with a still worried stance. “Kara?”</p><p>“Rao, Lena,” the hero finally breathed out. “Can you believe it?”</p><p>“What?” Although still slightly worried, Lena sounded calmer when she heard her wife’s voice again.</p><p>“It’s a girl.” It was said in such reverence that it brought more tears to Lena’s eyes as she watched the other woman look at their baby. “Our bubble it’s a girl.”</p><p>At that, the CEO scoffed. “Stop calling her like that.”</p><p>“Her,” Kara echoed, a large smile turning her lips up. “Our baby girl.”</p><p>“Our girl,” Lena agreed, squeezing her hand.</p><p>Not removing her hand from Lena’s grasp, Kara bent down until she could press a kiss on the woman’s covered belly. “Hi, baby girl.”</p><p>Smiling lovingly at the gesture and the awe not hidden from her wife’s voice, Lena allowed the reality of everything to wash over her. She was thirteen weeks pregnant with their little girl and it was finally stopping to feel like she was living a dream. It was real, they were real and their baby was real. Sometimes it was still hard to believe her luck.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She was right. The contractions pain had nothing on the birth itself.</p><p>It was like she was being ripped in half, her entire body screaming in pain and from the effort she had been doing. Lena for a minute honestly thought she wouldn’t be able to do it, the pain almost too much to bear and the emotional toll it was taking on her only making things worse.</p><p>“You’re almost there, Lena,” Alex promised with a short nod, brushing Lena’s hair out of her face after she fell back into bed with a tired and desperate cry.</p><p>“How do you know that?” Lena barked back a bit too angrily and instantly felt bad about it. She and Kara had talked about some things she might say during birth that her wife should gently brush to the side and ignore, but Alex wasn’t ready to face any of this. She didn’t sign up for this, that’s for sure.</p><p>Yet, there she was. Holding Lena’s hand, making sure she wouldn’t have to face that moment alone, taking every jab thrown her way and allowing Lena to crush her bones.</p><p>“Well, you can’t be farter than before,” Alex replied with a shrug and a smirk, but her stupid joke only managed to irritate the brunette even more. She squeezed Alex’s hand tighter than she had to and the former director winced in pain.</p><p>“I’m going to kill you,” Lena promised between gritted teeth.</p><p>“Come on, Lena,” the redhead prompted. “You’re doing great.”</p><p>“I wish Kara was here.” Alex’s face fell for a second before she recovered from the sad tone in the woman’s words, not fast enough to avoid Lena to keep talking, though. “She should be here.”</p><p>Alex was saved from finding a soothing reply when the doctor’s head popped from between Lena’s head. “One more push, Lena. She’s almost out.”</p><p>It was a lie and Lena would forever hate every single person inside that room with her. Her baby girl took another half an hour to grace the world with her presence, and, by the time Lena finally gave the last push, her entire body felt like it would never recover from the pain and exhaustion. But then a loud cry replaced her cries of pain and she couldn’t even care about it anymore.</p><p>She just wanted to hold her daughter and never let her go. To wrap her arms around the precious human being she had grown inside her belly for so long and make sure she was safe. She wanted to look at her and take notes on every little detail of her small body.</p><p>“Lena?”</p><p>“What?” She wasn’t feeling strong enough to sit or even open her eyes to look at Alex, but she could feel a callused hand running up and down her arm to remind her she wasn’t alone.</p><p>“She’s beautiful.” At that, Lena opened her eyes and raised her head from the pillow, trying to see her baby, who was still crying at one of the corners of the room. “Hey, calm down, they will bring her to you.”</p><p>Later she would feel bad for thinking that, but Lena knew Alex couldn’t understand how she felt. She just gave birth to her daughter. There was nothing more she wanted than hold her in her arms and see her face for the first time. Kara would know, if she was there. They would have been feeling the same thing, the same anxiety for knowing their daughter finally, the same nervousness. Kara would have kissed her forehead and thanked her for bringing their little girl to life, and then they would hold her together for the first time and they would share the first moment as a family.</p><p>But Kara wasn’t there.</p><p>So when the nurse approached her holding a little bundle of white blankets wrapped around a tiny baby, Lena held her alone, cried alone looking down at her wrinkled face, and fell in love all over again without a companion. She cried, her hormones getting the best of her, and this time no one could blame her for that.</p><p>“Do you have a name yet?” One of the nurses asked, clipboard in hand, ready to write down whatever Lena spoke.</p><p>Lena paused, though, looking down at the little girl in her arms, rolling the name in her head a couple of times. Then, after a short nod, she ran the tip of her index finger through a pointed teeny tiny nose and announced: “Lyanna.”</p><p>“That’s a beautiful name,” Alex commented from somewhere behind her. The woman decided to take a step back and give her some space while meeting her daughter, hovering from a respectful distance even if she was also eager to meet her niece.</p><p>“It is,” Lena agreed, sniffling. “Lyanna Kieran.” She looked over her shoulder then, giving Alex a pointed look that the woman immediately understood.</p><p>She couldn’t say it aloud, her daughter's real name, but they both knew. Lyanna Kieran Zor-El.</p><p>In Alex’s opinion, it was truly a beautiful name. When she put a shaky hand on top of a delicate head, she smiled waterily. “Hi, Lyanna. Welcome to the family, little girl.”</p><p>Lena hummed, her muscles finally giving in after all the effort she had to pull out. She allowed Alex to take her over but kept an eager watch on them. “Less than five minutes old and you already have a nickname for her?”</p><p>Alex didn’t reply, but she didn’t have to. They were both fine in just watching the newborn for a while.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>18 weeks ago:</em>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena was definitely showing by the end of week 16. Her belly was starting to get round and prominent, finally, some of her skirts were already a distant memory to her and her blouses were starting to get too tight. Kara promised they could go to a weekend shopping spree if she wanted to, but Lena wasn’t feeling like going out in public like that. She wasn’t ready to have the press finding out about her pregnancy just yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So they decided to make some online shopping, huddled on the couch side by side with their feet on top of the coffee table. The white laptop was set on Kara’s lap and Lena was cuddling against her side to look at the screen while she chose another dress while her wife tried not to mention the size of the bill already. She knew her wife was rich and they would never have to worry about money, but sometimes the size of Lena’s bills still scared her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is cute,” Kara pointed at a blue sundress and turned her head to look at the other woman, but Lena’s crunched nose was all answer she needed. She chuckled. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s something you would wear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And my clothes are <em>so</em> bad,” Kara teased her with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena seemed like a deer got in the headlights for a second. “They look good on you! But on me they would look like... my mother dressed me for church day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara laughed more openly now, raising one hand to hold Lena’s chin while she kissed her forehead. “I get it, you like dark colors and feed of people’s souls.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, you understand me,” Lena replied with a chuckle. As she watched Kara rolling down to other dress options her hand came to rest on her growing belly distractedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde took notice of that move and decided to delay the shopping for a while longer. She closed the laptop, leaned over to put it on the coffee table, and leaned back on the couch with one arm already wrapping around Lena. Her wife was fast to cuddle on her again, resting her head on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around her waist. Kara’s other hand came to rest on her wife’s pregnant belly with a satisfied sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you feeling today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena took a deep breath. “The morning sickness is finally gone, but I seem to have an aversion to eggs now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will make you some pancakes for breakfast,” Kara promised, pressing a kiss on the side of her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What about you? How do <em>you</em> feel?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara sighed, contemplating the question for a few seconds before she shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I have loved you for many years now but now is like a thousand times that. You’re growing a tiny human, you know. <em>Our</em> tiny human.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena smiled softly and allowed Kara’s words to sink into her brain, her heartwarming up in a way only her wife could make happen. She didn’t think there would ever come a time where she wouldn’t be in Kara’s presence and feel blessed for the life they built together, rocky starts and all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a list of names," the blonde declared suddenly, sounding excited by the prospect of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really?" Lena raised one eyebrow, tilting her head up to watch as her wife’s face beamed at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah. I had nothing to do at CatCo...” Kara paused, her eyes going wide. “I mean, the DEO! I work a lot every day at CatCo, until I'm exhausted, always writing!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The CEO laughed at that, shaking her head fondly. "Kara, breath. It's fine. As your boss, I will pretend I didn't hear it,” although she said it, she still pinched Kara’s side for good measure and the blonde squealed happily. “Come on, show me the list."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately after the words were out, Kara pulled her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and opened the notes. "Okay! Ready?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hit me," Lena nodded solemnly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Madonna."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too shocked, it took Lena a few seconds to ask, "what?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It means..." Kara started, raising one finger like she was about to give a very well built speech, “loyalty,” but only said one word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...You have to be kidding,” Lena scoffed. “Kara, we're not naming our daughter after Madonna."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is not <em>after</em> Madonna,” the blonde protested quickly. “It's a nice name!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No." Just to make it clear, Lena shook her head too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Fine. Beyoncé."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Kara," Lena sighed, finally realizing her wife was just making fun of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's unique! It means ‘the one who brings victories’.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You lost the right to give an opinion on the names," the brunette declared firmly, pushing away from the other woman to grab the laptop to keep her shopping so she could find a way to ignore her wife’s shenanigans.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No!” Kara complained with a barely hidden laugh. “I have other ones. They're good! Look, I have a whole section if you want to follow the Luthor tradition with the L thing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite knowing it was a bad idea, Lena sighed and nodded. "Fine, say it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a beat of silence while Kara’s smirk only grew before she declared with conviction, "Lady Gaga. Nia is voting for this one."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena rolled her eyes so hard that it was shocking they didn’t get stuck like that. She pushed the lid open and added two more dresses in her chart before Kara could stop her, deciding she was allowed to shop like crazy if her wife was taking the day to be a brat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s it, no more suggestions to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara laughed. “When you’re high on drugs and can’t stop me, I will name her the way I want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You forget I’m a Luthor, darling. I can find a way to bend the law to allow me to make her a birth certificate before she’s even born and then <em>I</em> will name her as <em>I</em> wish.” She said all of that without looking away from the computer, but she could see Kara’s smiling harder at her and she had to fight her wish to smile as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good Rao, woman. You’re truly fire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you should always keep that in mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Speaking for real now,” Kara said softly after a solid minute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so Lady Gaga wasn’t your real suggestion?” Lena mocked. “What a shame, I was starting to warm up to that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hero rolled her eyes, nudging Lena’s side. “Have you thought about names yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” Lena shook her head. “I mean, names have meanings and it’s literally the most important thing we will ever decide for her, so I’m taking this really seriously.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I agree, even if it doesn’t look like I do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you wish to name her using a Kryptonian name?” Lena asked softly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think she would be too happy to have a name no one can write down,” Kara huffed a laugh. “Although, it might be a good thing if she becomes a rebel teenager.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Rao, no! We’re not going to think about teenagers yet!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Laughing at her wife’s grimace, Kara leaned forward to give her a quick peck on the lips. “Give me a name, come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena hesitated for a second, not sure if she should really say the name that her brain had been playing with since she found out she was pregnant. Deciding she could truly trust Kara with her life and that the woman would never judge her or make fun of her, she decided it was safe to share.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but first you tell me one of yours. A serious one, don’t say Shakira or I will be really pissed off.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Would J-Lo be more acceptable?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry to tell you, baby girl, but I’m divorcing your mother.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara gasped and they both had to battle the urge to laugh between their bickering. “How dare you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I warned you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bubble, your mother knows how to break a heart.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t listen to her, sweetheart!” Lena allowed Kara to put a hand back in her belly before resting her on top of hers. “Your name is not Bubble!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no! Now you went too far!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A second later, Lena found herself squirming on the couch when Kara started a tickle fight, her loud laugh joining Kara’s like it was intimate music filling their home and the world looked like a perfect place.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Shh,” Lena whispered, swaying her body from one foot to the other as she tried not to succumb to exhaustion. “It’s okay, baby girl.”</p><p>
  <span>The baby in her arms kept crying loudly and restlessly, probably managing to wake up the entire hospital, her little hands punching the air as she squirmed inside her blanket. The nurse had just wheeled the bassinet into her room a few minutes ago and, although her daughter had already been crying when she got there, it only seemed to get worse now that they were alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mommy is here, baby. It’s fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to the door with hope in her eyes, only to deflate when she saw Alex standing there with a shy smile and nervous hands. “Hi, Alex.” Lena immediately looked back at the baby in her arms and tried soothing her again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena scoffed. “Another lie popular opinion seems to spread. A mother doesn’t always know why their baby is crying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hearing and feeling the bite in the woman’s words, Alex took a tentative step inside the room and tried not to look like she felt pity. “Can I help?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The nurse will be back soon,” Lena sighed. “She said it was time for the first feeding and she would teach me how, but she hadn’t returned yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex nodded, not sure how she could help in that particular situation, her eyes going around the room nervously. “Shouldn’t you be in bed rest?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell that to your niece,” Lena replied and Alex could hear the unreleased tears on her words. “She disliked me even more when I was sitting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She doesn’t dislike you,” Alex quickly denied. “She’s just hungry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena nodded, sniffled, and tried to shush the baby again, but her breath got stuck in the back of her throat when a sob raised from her chest. She felt so frustrated. So, so frustrated. And so, so guilty for feeling like that. Her baby girl was finally born, she was perfect – her lungs certainly were – and she was everything Lena pictured and more. Yet, she couldn’t brush off that feeling of not being in control of the situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>During the Lamaze classes, Kara had made her laugh with their creepy doll and promised to buy her all of the expensive lotions for her nipples when she started breastfeeding. And now Kara wasn’t there, Lena still didn’t know how to change a diaper and her baby wouldn’t stop crying. Lena had a whole new baby to look after for and she never felt more alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Lena,” Alex called her softly, but Lena refused to look up. “Tell me how I can help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can hear my goddaughter celebrating my visit.” They both turned, a little surprised, when Sam suddenly appeared at the door, holding a large balloon shaped like a unicorn. Her smile dropped when she took in the scene in the room, though. Her best friend crying and looking lost, and her long time girlfriend quietly begging for help. “What is going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena sniffled, trying to get a hold from her emotions, before shrugging the best she could with a still crying baby in her arms. “The nurse said she would be back soon to teach me how to feed her,” she rustled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam nodded, although her eyes were already taking in the room. There were flowers, cards, and stuffed animals all around the place. There was Alex, still looking like she was scared <em>and</em> scarred. There was Lena, looking like she was a minute of bursting into unstoppable tears. And there was the crying baby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she took a deep breath and pushed the balloon into Alex’s chest, the woman barely able to catch it before it started to flow away. “Alex, honey, pick everything up and take it to our car, okay? We will drop it at Lena’s apartment later, but we don’t know if Lyanna isn’t allergic to anything yet. Then, please be a sweetheart and make a run to Big Belly. Extra fries, but don’t let the nurse see you.” Sam patted her girlfriend’s back and then moved to her friend. “Lena, let me hold her so you can go back to bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She doesn’t...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s okay. I will teach you how to feed her. Ruby was a nightmare at first, don’t tell her that, but I managed it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena was clearly hesitant, but she finally let Sam take her daughter from her arms, eyeing her with concern, but also with relief. She slowly backed down to bed, putting her hands on the mattress first before pushing herself up, eyes never leaving the bundle in her friend’s arms. That was the first time Sam was meeting her daughter and her best friend was clearly amazed by the baby if the way she was softly smiling at her was any indication, so Lena allowed herself to relax, knowing her daughter was in good hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be right back,” Alex muttered after collecting the items she could carry in her first trip to the car, and then she was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get me wrong,” Lena statted after they found themselves alone. The rest of the hospital was quiet, the only sound in the late morning being the weeping baby and Lena’s own internal panic. Sam leaned over the side of the bed so she could pass the baby over again and it was like every sound in the world suddenly burst inside Lena’s ear. It was almost too much, almost too overwhelming, almost. “But Alex will drive me crazy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sam huffed a chuckle while she helped her friend find the perfect position for the task in hands. She knew, by experience, that this wouldn’t work out in the first try and that Lena would get more and more frustrated – hence the french fries she would sneak at her – but she also knew there was never a challenge that her friend didn’t face before with her head up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s Alex to you. Don’t worry, I will keep her busy and out of the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sam?” Lena’s soft, quiet, dread voice came after a brief pause filled by pulling hospital gowns down, arranging blankets, and gently coaxing small thin lips to open. “I don’t think I can do this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you can.” There was no hesitation, no pause, no halt. Instead, the phrase was said with so much conviction that brought tears to both of them. “And so can Lyanna.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There wasn’t much talking after that, just some random explanations, soft orders, gentle soothing words, but, at the end of it, Lyanna was still crying and she didn’t seem closer to accept the food her mother was trying to provide her. Tears had dropped, fat and thick, while eager thumbs had chased them away between shushes. Sam knew her friend was mourning her situation even more now that she was facing it and, not for the first time, she wished she could make things better.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>14 weeks ago:</em>
</p><p>
  <span>At the sound of a soft thump, Lena froze. Her hand, half inside a pickles jar, jerked away like that time Lillian caught her having a midnight snack with her expensive English cookies, her head tilted to the side like she was waiting to see what would happen, eyes glued to the soft rug of the living room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thump became a sliding noise, the cold air of the night entering the house for a brief second before the noise was back and the wind got locked away again. Then came the steps, soft and hesitant, and Lena just knew she was about to be teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Good evening, ma'am."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes, quite dramatically, and her shoulders dropped with a sigh. "Just say it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soft chuckles - warming up her heart but making her mad at the same time, and damn these stupid hormones. "I wasn't going to say anything."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Kara," the younger woman sighed again, this time raising her eyes to meet her wife across the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara was still standing by the balcony door, her red cape falling down her back and gently swaying on the floor like it could still feel a light breeze. The woman was clearly having the time of her life, just standing there in her superhero signature pose, a large amused grin on her face and a glint in her eyes that melted away Lena's unjustified anger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like she could see right through her, Kara chuckled again and started walking towards her, her red boots making a small noise where they landed at each step. It wasn't until she reached the kitchen island that she let her hands drop from her hips and fall into the cold marble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So..." she started, drawing the word. "You like pickles now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena huffed exasperatedly, mouth hanging open for a large second in her outrage. "I'm a <em>pregnant</em> woman! I'm allowed to eat whatever I want!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara raised both hands in defeat, her lips twitching and eyebrows raising as she tried to hide her amusement and hold back a laugh. "I didn't say you couldn't!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But you," Lena picked the pickle she had been trying to reach and used it to point at Kara's chest, "were judging me," accused her with a pointed glare, taking a bite out of the pickle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, I wasn't!" Kara defended herself quickly, this time giggling a little bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Kara Zor-El, you don't even dream about making fun of your pregnant wife."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn't hold back anymore. Kara threw her head back, a loud, gleeful laugh escaping her throat and ending the nightly quietude of the apartment. Lena rolled her eyes, but her lips curled into a fond smile while she shook her head and finished the pickle. She still hated it. She hated the taste and the consistency, but her daughter <em>really</em> wanted it so she had to compromise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, babe," Kara breathed, using that same tone she used when Lena did something she found particularly cute or that made her a little more in love. While Lena chewed, her wife approached her, curling into her side. She pressed a kiss on the side of her head and then pulled her by the hip to get closer, before resting that hand on Lena's belly. "I love you, even if you suddenly develop a taste for every food you used to hate and banished from our home."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena sighed. "It's your daughter’s fault."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"When she's bothering you she's my daughter only," Kara teased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You just wait until she wins a Noble to see who’s daughter she will be then," the shorter woman teased back before wrapping both arms around her wife's middle. "I woke up and you were gone, so your daughter decided it was time to eat."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She's making mamma proud," Kara nodded a couple of times, beaming with a blinding smile. "What did she wanted to eat?" She looked around the kitchen island curiously, not sure what kind of snack could come out from that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Pickles," Lena raised the jar with a sigh before putting it back down. "And mustard."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"With the pickles or, like, from a spoon?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know which one is worse," the pregnant woman groaned annoyedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara laughed. "Is this peanut butter?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't get me started on that. I know it looks disgusting and it is, no surprise on that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara shook her head, but then she unwrapped her arm from around Lena and clapped her hands excitedly. "Okay, teach me how to eat this crazy snack!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?" Lena raised a confused eyebrow at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not making you go through this alone and, to be fair, beating that bad guy made me hungry, so come on!" Kara grabbed a pickle and smiled. "Do I dip it on the mustard first?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a long pause while Lena ogled her in a mix of disbelief, surprise and, if she was going to be honest with herself, desire. Finally, she huffed. "Grab a spoon, you barbarian." While Kara turned around to take a spoon out of the dishwasher, Lena swept her ass. “And another one for the peanut butter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why can’t I use yours?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, that’s gross.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara turned around slowly, one eyebrow raised and a look that could only be translated to ‘seriously?’. She knew her wife, though, so Kara only shook her head and grabbed the damn spoons before turning around with both of them raised in each hand. “Show me your knowledge, my master.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena took a pickle from the jar and held it out for Kara, then picked another one for herself. Both with their pickles in hand, she dipped her spoon on the mustard jar, the expensive kind she used on her secret sauce, then spread it over one side of the pickle. She waited until Kara had caught up before moving to the peanut butter and doing the same thing. When the pickle was looking like the most disgusting food she ever saw, she nodded once and leaned against the counter with her left side so she could look at Kara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to kill me,” Kara groaned but raised her own pickle so they could dramatically do a toast. Then she pushed the whole thing inside her mouth before she could change her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena did the same, although she only took one bite out of hers, and casually slid a cup of water in Kara’s direction as she watched her reaction to their daughter’s dream snack. The blonde’s face was curious at first, then it changed to confusion, probably due to her taste buds having no idea what was going on, then it shifted really fast to disgust before it became neutral, and suddenly Lena couldn’t hold back her laugh anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Drink some water, darling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara shook her head, clearly trying to appear brave or something equally ridiculous. “So... Bubble <em>likes</em> this?” she spoke around a mouthful of pickles, mustard, and peanut butter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena nodded, a mischievous look on her face while she took another bite of her snack. “She does.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her wife’s resolve finally broke and her face contorted in a cute grimace. She took a large gulp of the offered water, brushed her hands on her suit – much to Lena’s dismay – and came to stand behind Lena, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her to rest her back against her chest. Lena sighed happily, finishing her pickle and reaching for another one in the jar, and Kara chuckled to herself as she rested both hands on her wife’s belly and placed a kiss on the woman’s cheek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bubble, you need to catch up with the program. You were supposed to help me convince mommy that eating pizza every day is the best idea ever!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena scoffed at that, allowing her weight to rest completely on Kara while the spread mustard and peanut butter on her pickle. “I already know you two will be a handful. Peas from the same pod.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that?” Kara teased as she freed one of her hands to push her spoon deep inside the peanut butter jar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena didn’t bother swapping her hand away, although she rolled her eyes when Kara put the spoon straight into her mouth. "Your daughter is a nightmare. She won't stop moving." Even though the baby had been quiet at the first months of pregnancy, almost making herself known, she had acquired a taste for being quite active in the last couple of weeks and it was driving Lena nuts. The girl seemed really determined to make her internal organs as her personal football. “But, as soon as you touch my belly, she just stops.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does she really?” Kara asked, without even trying to hide the glee on her voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shorter woman snorted, clearly less amused by it than her wife. “I’m telling you, she doesn’t stop moving,” she sighed. “She’s always kicking and just yesterday she decided to sit on my bladder while I was at a meeting. I went to the bathroom five times in one hour.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Kara cooed, putting the spoon down to place both palms against the soft skin on her wife’s stomach. “Bubble, you can’t make things harder for mommy,” she said in that special voice she had been using to talk with Lena’s belly. “She’s being very brave going through this and we should both be doing things easier for her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If she’s half as stubborn as you...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No way, you’re the stubborn one!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How dare you insult your pregnant wife!” Lena gasped with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, my pregnant wife, let’s go back to bed so I can have a serious conversation with our daughter about bothering you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no,” Lena teased. “Someone is already in trouble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not,” Kara giggled when the brunette grabbed another pickle before starting to close the jars and put them away. “We will chat and she will understand that we don’t kick who we love.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I swear to God that I will be pissed if you become the only one who can calm her down after she’s born,” the brunette said, but there was no real edge to her voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara’s cheerful laugh sounded behind her while she made her way to their bedroom with a smile of her own. The warm feeling she felt around Kara since they met, that feeling that used to be so foreign, followed them, wrapping itself around Lena like a blanket. Belonging, love, happiness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, by the way,” Kara said after she joined her in the room, taking off her suit to slip back into her comfy PJs, “J’onn said he’s free tomorrow to help us paint the room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Help <em>you</em> paint the room,” Lena corrected with one quirked eyebrow as she slips under the covers. Now with her weird craving fulfilled and her wife with her, Lena would soon go back to sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, that’s not teamwork.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I offered to call a painter and I would even let you give him the paycheck,” Lena shrugged. “That would have been great teamwork.” Kara scoffed while climbing in her side of the bed, but Lena was smiling and cupped her face to give her a kiss. “I’m joking, darling. You and J’onn will paint the room and I will supervise every step.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that’s exactly what she planned to do. Lena stood by the door, using one of Kara’s sweatpants and an old shirt, leaning against the door frame while she watched her wife reading the back of a can of paint to find out how to do it. J’onn, bless him, had made the run to the store to grab Lena’s order, but he was called to a last-minute mission just five minutes after he got there and now Kara was alone to figure out how to paint Lena’s old office to look like a baby’s room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hand me the green can,” Lena demanded when she walked inside the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara’s eyes snapped up and she frowned when she saw Lena’s attire. “No, I can do it alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you can, but I’m also feeling generous today,” Lena smiled, looking down at where Kara was crouched on the floor and rested one hand on her round belly. “The green one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, really. You shouldn’t be around this paint, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s safe, Kara.” Lena bent down to grab the extra foam and shrugged. “Come on, I will let you blow to dry the paint faster.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That caught Kara’s attention. She smiled at her wife before pushing the green paint at her. “I found out how to mix it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so they spent the next hour on opposite sides of the room, Lena with the pastel baby green and Kara with the pastel yellow. They still had two walls to paint, one with pastel baby blue and the other one with pastel baby pink, not to mention the strip of lilac Lena wanted in every wall, but they still smiled proudly when they met in the middle of the room, each one of them holding a paintbrush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see what you meant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Kara hummed, her lips pressed to the side of Lena’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said you wanted to do it, I can see why.” Lena sighed happily. “We’re bringing our baby’s room together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are,” Kara agreed. “And it’s looking dope.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena rolled her eyes fondly. “You’re spending too much time with your co-workers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara chuckled and opened her mouth to reply with another teasing when her cellphone suddenly rang. She pulled it from the pocket of her jumpsuit to look at the ID caller before she frowned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s from an unknown number.” She shrugged, deciding it wouldn’t hurt to answer it. “Hello?” Lena wiggled out of her hug so she could start the pink paint started and Kara watched her go with a grin, seeing how she kept on hand on their baby the entire time. “Oh, hey, Barry! What’s up?”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey, got everything?”</p><p>Lena looked from where she was standing, looking down at the small baby in the bassinet, and nodded at her sister-in-law with a small smile. “Already gave you everything. I just need the carrier basket.”</p><p>“Okay,” Alex also nodded and picked a bag of diapers that was by the door. “I will drop this and grab the carrier. Be right back.”</p><p>“No need to,” Sam announced as she walked inside the room with the release forms signed and a cheerful smile while she set the carrier on the floor. “I already grabbed it.”</p><p>“Thank you, Sam.”</p><p>“Some of us had already carried a baby around,” Sam winked at her friend before turning to her girlfriend to give her a quick peck. “You can wait for us in the car, make sure there’s enough room in the backseat for the baby and baby momma.”</p><p>Alex nodded and turned around to do what she was told to, and soon they were alone. Sam approached her friend and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. They both took a moment to look at the sleeping baby before the taller woman chuckled softly.</p><p>“Good luck picking her up without waking her.”</p><p>Lena rolled her eyes. “Gee, aren’t you a good friend?”</p><p>Sam shrugged, trying really hard to stop a grin to curl her lips. “Always at your service. Now, come on, we need to transfer this little bean back home.”</p><p>Lena took a deep breath between nods before she leaned forward to wrap her arms around her daughter. She scooped her the best she could, using her forearms to hold her up and one hand to support her head. The baby squirmed a little, her face doing a cute grimace that made Lena smile despite the tension she was feeling but remained unfazed. She carefully held the baby against her chest, walked to where Sam had put the carrier on top of the bed, then lowered Lyanna until she was safely laying there. She quickly put the safety belts around her, like she taught herself to do after reading two different manuals about it, then nodded to herself.</p><p>“Okay, so I will go first,” Sam started, a small note of teasing on her voice. “Then you go and we run before they realize we left the baby.”</p><p>Lena rolled her eyes so hard that it was a surprise they didn’t pop out of her head, but she appreciated her friend’s attempt to joke. “What do we say if Alex asks if we forgot something?”</p><p>“She will be too busy driving.” They stood in peaceful silence for another second before Sam chuckled again. “Come on, let’s get you both home. It will not make things better, but at least it isn’t the hospital.”</p><p>“You have a very unique way to cheer me up.”</p><p>“Not to break the bubble, but should I ask Alex to make a stop on the way?” Sam eyed her curiously, looking almost afraid that she would break right then and there.</p><p>Lena didn’t, though. She sighed, deep and tiredly, but kept her ground. “No. Let’s just go home. I’m tired and... I’m not ready.”</p><p>“Okay,” Sam nodded. “Just tell me when you are, okay?”</p><hr/><p>
  <em>10 weeks ago:</em>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena had a Hell of a day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>First, she had a council meeting, where she had to deal with half of the room wanting her to leave for her maternity leave like yesterday while the other half wanted to put their gross hands on her belly for no reason whatsoever and without asking first. She would’ve said no to everyone if they had given her the chance, but since they didn’t she had to settle for glaring at them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t work because, apparently, Lena didn’t look as scary while she was pregnant. A bad thing, if anyone asked her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Already annoyed with them, Lena had to go through a busy day that only made things worse. By the time her clock turned and she realized it was time to leave, she had planned thirteen different murderers and ways to get away with it. Instead, she picked up her purse and left her office while leaving a trail of fire behind her. Well, she did her best, considering the large prominent belly making mundane things like walking – and sleeping, and eating, and peeing – a thousand times worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Things didn’t get better when she entered her apartment and heard loud crashing noises and bangs coming from somewhere inside. She frowned, kicking her shoes and putting her purse and coat away, before heading to where the noise was coming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What the hell is this noise?" she asked on her way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As expected, because it couldn’t be literally anyone else, Kara was the source of the noise. Well, not her specifically, but she was holding a hammer when she raised her head to look at Lena when she got at the door. The blonde was crouching on the floor, pieces of wood everywhere, but she had a large smile and bright blue eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hey, Lena! I'm putting the crib together!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite the glee on her wife’s voice and the bliss she knew she should be sharing, Lena couldn’t push the bad feelings of the day to the side. "Now?" She arched one eyebrow and crossed her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well... I got home like half an hour ago.” Kara seemed to feel something was wrong because she made sure to use a gentler tone, one her hands raising to scratch the back of her neck while she looked around the mess she had made.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Regardless.” Lena sighed, her shoulders dropping and her rage raising. Anger spikes weren’t unusual for her throughout the years, but she had been able to manage them better in the last couple of years or so. Even so, right now it seemed hard for her to remember how to bring it down. “Just put everything away, will you? I will call someone in the morning, like I told you to do."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara frowned, picking a piece of wood like she was examining it. "Yeah, but..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena huffed an angry breath. "Kara, we talked about this. Why can't you just hear me for a change?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That appeared to be her wife’s limit because the blonde suddenly stood, letting the piece of wood on the ground, and studied her with eager, knowing eyes. "... Is everything okay?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why I'm always in the wrong here?” Lena pushed herself from the door frame and shook her head. “I told you to call someone to put the furniture away and, once again, you ignored me. I don't understand why this has to be about me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Lena..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No. Just don't."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And because she was feeling ridiculous, Lena turned around and left, making sure her eyes wouldn’t catch a glimpse of Kara’s surprised face. She knew she had reacted badly the second she started walking down the hallway to their shared room but she could also feel tears burning the back of her eyes and decided to deal with herself first before apologizing to her wife. Hormones or not, Kara didn’t deserve a partner who snapped at her for no reason. Or any reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena’s fingers had already become prunes in the bathtub by the time Kara came to find her. She had her eyes closed and a deep frown that almost made her eyebrows met in the middle, but she heard her wife’s footsteps getting closer with caution and that made her heart sink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” she whispered, knowing Kara would listen to her even if she was five blocks away. “I shouldn’t have talked to you like that. I just had a terrible day at work and I wanted to get home and rest.” Lena paused when she noticed she wasn’t exactly apologizing when she was putting the blame back on Kara, so she sighed. “That’s no excuse, I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence fell over them for quite a while and Lena decided she wasn’t going to open her eyes, afraid that she would find out she was alone again. Kara soothed her abandonment issues quite often, always promising her she would never leave, but Lena couldn’t help but worry. Especially after she fucked things up. In the back of her mind, unhealthy and worrying, Lena was always trying to find out when Kara would leave her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My mother has told me that Luthors are never happy unless the world is falling apart around them,” the brunette confessed when the silence became too much to bear. She still couldn’t hear Kara, wasn’t brave enough to open her eyes, and was feeling to guilt to speak above a whisper, but she kept talking. “Maybe that's the way the Universe found to fuck us up the same way we fuck other people. Maybe we can't be happy because we don't deserve to be happy."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t say that,” Kara replied sharply. “Don’t ever say that again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Relief washed over her. Kara was still there. She was mad, it was clear on her voice, she was probably disappointed, annoyed, and even hurt, but she was still there and she was listening. Lena would come up with five thousand different apologies if she had to, anything to make Kara stay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not saying my mother is right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not saying she’s wrong either,” Kara scoffed. “How many of the things your mother told you have ever become anything other than a way to mess with your head?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena chuckled, no humor in the small sound, and shook her head. “She does have a point, though. I keep ruining things, like every Luthor does.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara didn’t reply right away, but Lena didn’t have time to start worrying. A few seconds after she spoke, Lena felt a presence sitting by the edge of the bathtub and then the tip of soft fingertips touched the arm that was draped by the edge and out of the water. Her breath got stuck in the back of the throat for a second, her body tensed and her brain fought to make sense of the intimate touch. Lena didn’t think she would ever get used to the way Kara used her touch to soothe and make things better, but she would be damned if she didn’t appreciate it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t ruin anything. You had a rough day. Everyone has one of those.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You never yelled at me in one of your bad days,” Lena replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara snorted. “That could barely be considered yelling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t make excuses for me. I was rude and it was unnecessary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, yes, but I don’t love you any less because of that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you should,” Lena gulped and pulled her arm away from the blonde’s gentle touch. “I don’t deserve...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t!” The interruption came sharp and sudden, and it caused Lena to snap her eyes open. Kara was staring down at her with tight fists and a very angry look on her face, and, if Lena didn’t know her better than anyone else, she could have been scared. “Don’t you even dare finish that sentence, Lena Zor-El! There isn’t such a thing as deserving in here. You love me, you make me happy, you’re giving me a family. So don’t you dare tell me that there is something, anything, that would make you have second thoughts about us. Not even your self-deprecating side.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger woman felt the familiar tingle of tears behind her eyes and the shake of her bottom lip, but she held it all in. Not crying was one of the last lessons Lillian Luthor taught her that still lingered deep in her guts. At the sight of her tearful wife, Kara softened her expression and her body lost all tension. Her hand reached out again, finding Lena’s inside the warm water and bringing it to her lap. Her sweatpants soaked in water and soap, but she ignored it, choosing to fiddle with her wife’s fingers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Talk to me, Lena. Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m scared,” the woman confessed softly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Afraid of what? That I will leave one day? Lena, we talked about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The said woman shook her head sadly and sighed. “I’m afraid that this is too good to be true. This,” she waved her free hand around, “us, our family, everything. I’m afraid that something bad will happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would something bad ever happen?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because Luthors don’t deserve to be happy.” A single tear slid down her cheek and dropped in the water and Lena sniffled to keep the rest of them inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even if that was true, which I’m not saying it is, you’re not a Luthor anymore.” Kara squeezed her hand once before her index finger tapped the ring on Lena’s hand and she smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The brunette chuckled, although it was still tense and not entirely honest. “Right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena, I’m serious. I don’t want you thinking you don’t deserve any of this, or that you deserve less than happiness, or that you keep walking around waiting for something to happen. Nothing is going to happen, babe. And I’m willing to spend the rest of my life making you happy, just like I know you will do the same for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You always know what to say,” Lena sighed and closed her eyes again, feeling a bit overwhelmed. “And I’m sorry about this. All of this. All of tonight. A bad day mixed with pregnancy hormones just proved to be a very bad combination.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s quite alright. We’re here for each other in the good and bad moments,” Kara leaned forward and pressed a kiss on top of Lena’s head, trying to transmit her love through the gesture. “I will go put things away and wait for you in bed. I can finish putting the crib together some other day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to, Kara. I promise you I wasn’t actually annoyed by it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s fine. I still have to finish some details, anyway, so it will be good,” Kara shrugged, although her wife couldn’t see her, and slowly raised to her feet, letting go of the pale hand gently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Details?” Lena asked and opened only her left eye to look at the blonde. “On what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On the headboard wood,” Kara explained. “I’m engraving some things on it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What things?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some symbols. Kryptonian symbols that mean love and family.” The blonde smiled, clearly missing the impressed look her wife was giving her. “I also wrote El Mayarah and I will try to recreate our crest too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re... engraving the crib?” Lena blinked. “Actually, let’s backtrack a little. When did you even buy a crib? We didn’t go out to buy any of this yet. I said I could call my decorator.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time Kara blushed, a hand raising to scratch the back of her neck as an awkward laugh escaped her. “Yeah, well, I hope you don’t mind, but I kind of decided to build it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back in Krypton, our babies were generated inside a machine and, well, we didn’t have cribs and things like that. I made some researches on how to build one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re doing that from, like, scratch?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty much. I mean, the boards were already cut, I just have to put it all together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing!” Lena shook her head and Kara suddenly realized her wife was squirming inside the bathtub.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smirk slowly curled her lips up and she crossed her arms. “Lena Zor-El, do you find the idea of your wife doing handiwork hot?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The brunette opened her mouth, already decided that she was going to deny ever thinking something like that, but then she remembered it was Kara, her wife, the person she trusted and loved the most. So she shrugged. “It <em>is</em> doing things to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara laughed, shaking her head fondly, and started backing away from the tub. “You’re so weird.” Before Lena could defend herself, though, the blonde shouted over her shoulder, “meet me in bed in five!”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm incredible sorry about the wait! I know it took me forever to update this fic, but writer's block is real, so is my anxiety and my workload, so please forgive me.</p><p>Also, I'm working on two other multi-chapter fics, or was before the block thing happened, so I might start posting them soon too.<br/>Once again, I apologize. Please, forgive me and enjoy this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Lena texted Sam saying she was ready, she did not expect how nervous she would become. It's not like her friend was driving her to visit her mother in prison, or to her own death. Sam wasn't taking her to a torture chamber or a cemetery.</p><p>
  <span>She was taking her to see Kara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena was finally ready to walk inside a room crowded with agents and scientists trying to fix things and look at her wife standing on the other side of a portal, effectively stuck in another dimension. Some dimension. Somewhere. No one knew for sure and that was the exact problem with it. Because she was stuck somewhere and no knew where or how to bring her back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For two months now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two long, excruciating months.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Lena was finally going to see her again. And not just that, she was bringing Lyanna so Kara could meet her. Her daughter. <em>Their</em> daughter. And Kara still hadn't seen her, hadn’t <em>met</em> her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The world could be damned, but Lena had no idea why things had to be so unfair. She was a Luthor, yes, but can't she catch a break? Fuck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Calm down, baby girl,” Lena whispered softly to the unsettled baby. Lyanna woke up in a bad mood, apparently, and taking her to Kara would be harder than it had to be. “It's okay. We're putting a hat to go see mama. You're going to meet her today. Are you excited?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The baby obviously didn’t reply, neither did she calm down like she was asked to, but Lena finally managed to put a beanie on her head. It wasn’t cold, necessarily, but better safe than sorry. Or maybe she was just trying to occupy her hands to hide how hard she was shaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know about her, but you look nervous as fuck." Sam, always the good friend, didn’t measure her words or tried to hold back the teasing tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Geez, thank you, Sam." Lena rolled her eyes as she moved from the baby carrier to the baby bag, the gigantic baby bag, so she could make sure everything was inside. Carrying a week old baby was already proving to be a challenge and they hadn’t even stepped outside yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just saying,” Sam replied softly. “Alex is waiting for you. Are you ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not really, Lena wanted to say. There was nothing that could have prepared her for what was about to happen. She never thought she would have to go to the D.E.O. and see Kara through a portal where she was stuck. Neither she ever imagined that her wife wouldn’t be there when their daughter was born, neither that she would take a week to meet her or that she wouldn’t even be able to hold her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, no, Lena wasn’t feeling particularly ready to face that music, but it’s not like they had any other way. She wouldn’t stop Kara from meeting their daughter, Universes away or not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like Sam had said, Alex was waiting for them just outside the room that had become an operation office since Kara went through the portal. Agents were walking in and out, holding equipment, computers, books, and even weapons, and they all made a huge effort not to look at Lena when she approached holding the baby carrier in the crook of her arm. She could feel the pity coming from them in waves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should I tell her you’re here?” Alex asked after bending to check on Lyanna with a large smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t tell her I was coming?” It sounded like a bad idea not to give Kara any time to get used to the idea of meeting her baby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “We were trying something, there was a lot of people around and... I didn’t have the chance to say anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena nodded, swallowing hard the nub that raised in her throat, and changed the baby carrier to the other arm when it became too heavy. “Send everyone away, please?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course. Wait here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And she did, of course, she did. That seemed to be the most common thing Lena has been doing the last couple of months: wait and hope for the best. She felt powerless, waiting for other people to solve the problem and give a solution, but Kara was determined that she should rest and make sure their baby was fine. With the number of agents working to get her back, it shouldn’t be taking so long, neither it should have been so damn hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Kara would just listen to her for once, they wouldn’t...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Lena?" Alex was leaning against the door, offering her a hand to take to steady her in case she needed it. She was thankful for the gesture but she was more than capable of handling things on her own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took a deep breath first, trying to wrap her mind around what was about to happen and the fact that she hadn’t seen Kara for over a week now, then she followed Alex inside, making sure Lyanna was still safe and asleep in the carrier. The room looked exactly like the last time she had been there: a complete mess. Tables, papers, machines, computers, everything was everywhere. Right in the middle was a metal-framed structure, shaped like the opening of a cave, with a white-ish veil-like glow. Behind the glow, slightly faded and sitting on the floor, was Kara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue suit, red cape, blonde hair, strong frame. Her wife.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tears blossom in the back of her eyes immediately and Lena had to bit her bottom lip to stop it from quivering. As soon as she spotted her, Kara shot to her feet, rushing forward until she hit what seemed to be an invisible wall stopping her from coming back to Lena. To come back to her family.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena?” Kara gasped and she sounded surprised even if Alex had warned about Lena being outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes,” thankfully Alex could answer for her because Lena’s tongue felt like a rock inside her mouth. “And she brought someone very special with her."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara’s eyes went wide and tears started falling down her cheeks in fat drops. "Oh, Rao. No. No, no, no...” she kept repeating the word over and over again, whimpering and running her hands over the barrier like she was trying to melt it away. Lena could feel her desperation even from a Universe away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Calm down, Kara,” Alex begged softly, standing just behind Lena. She could pretend all she wanted, but Lena could see that her eyes were also filled with tears. “There's nothing you can do about it now and there was nothing we could've done then. Just enjoy this moment, okay?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, Rao.” Kara sobbed, punched the portal, kicked the invisible wall, tried to scratch it, and cried. More and more by the second. The portal remained untouched, unmoved, unbent. “Please, let me touch her. Rao, please, let me touch my baby. Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Lena and Alex knew she wasn’t exactly asking them, more just shouting a plea to her God, but they both felt like crap for not being able to give her what she so desperately wanted. Two months and they still hadn’t found a way to bring her back. They weren’t closer to doing that than they were a month before. They didn’t even know where Kara was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She's so... little."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally finding her voice after hearing Kara’s soft tone, Lena smiled. "You say that because you weren't the one pushing her out of your body."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue eyes snapped from the sleeping baby to her and Kara looked even sadder than before. Not, not sad. Devastated. "Lena..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No,” the younger woman shook her head vehemently. “Not now. We're not talking about this now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hero hesitated, not sure if Lena meant it or not, but then she nodded slowly and sighed. "Okay."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena also nodded, not sure what else she could do. Nothing could have prepared her for that situation and nothing ever would. So she decided to approach, turning the carrier the best she could so her wife could take a better look at the baby. "Kara, meet your daughter.” Kara’s palms rested against the portal, just inches from them, and Lena found herself pressing her free hand against it. If she thought hard enough, she could almost feel the warmth of Kara’s skin. “Baby girl, look, that's your mama."</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>9 weeks ago:</em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Lena, you're so pretty!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara was high, Alex told her after dropping her wife at home. Alien toxin or something. Whatever it was, Alex didn’t want to handle it and, according to her, wife’s job to take care of her careless sister. So there she was, trying to make her wife calm down and remove her dirty clothes when all Kara wanted was to... well, make things harder for her. Pregnancy hormones and all, Lena was not in the mood to deal with that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You're pretty like that propaganda poster Ms. Lynn put on for his restaurant on the bus stops around town. The one with the potstickers. They should put your face on the bus stops!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t in the mood, but Kara was cute. Lena rolled her eyes, albeit her lips were twitching to smile, and kept trying to unlace the blonde’s boots. The next time she saw Alex, she was so going to make her sister-in-law pay for making her handle it alone while being pregnant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're gorgeous. Like, oh my Rao, I knew you were pretty when we met, but you're only getting better with time!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drunk Kara was a dork, she giggled and found everything funny. High Kara was a flirt, apparently. She didn’t have a strong game, not at all, but she was making Lena fell more and more amused every time she opened her mouth. So maybe Alex would survive another day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Every Bruno Mars song is talking about you, you know. Too hot, hot damn,” Kara sang the last part and, when Lena looked up at her, wiggled her eyebrows in a suggestive manner that made her wife finally break.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The brunette chuckled, shook her head, and raise to her feet to help her out of her cape. Kara’s eyes were falling her every move and her mouth opened in a perfect ‘o’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My Rao, woman, how can you be so pretty? I hope our kids look like you!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena pursed her lips but remained silent. She had a suspicion there was nothing she could say that would make things better or make Kara stop talking. Maybe she should be recording all of this to make fun of her wife later. Oh, the lost opportunity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I always wanted to ask you if you did something with your eyes because they're so green! It's like the grass in my back yard when I was a kid."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that, Lena scoffed. "I did nothing with my eyes, I was born with them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I was so blessed," Kara breathed out in complete awe and raised her arms when Lena prompted her to so she could remove the top part of her suit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Didn't you mean <em>I</em> was blessed?" She asked with a soft smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, I'm the one looking at them!" Kara declared so certainly of herself that Lena couldn’t help but chuckle again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Romeo, jump in the shower. We will talk once you get down from your high.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, oh,” the blonde mumbled under her breath. “I’m in trouble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was and it was good she knew it, even in her altered state. While Kara showered and changed, Lena finished dinner, a salad, and grilled chicken because her wife didn’t deserve any of her greasy food. When the blonde returned, groaning and running a hand through her hair, Lena was already in a bad mood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rao, that was crazy. My head felt like it was floating away, I swear. Like, totally detached from my body. Crazy thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena pondered her words for a while, giving her head a few seconds to think about what her wife was telling her before she stabbed a piece of her chicken. "Don't you think it's time for you to consider taking a break?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A break from what?" Kara had to be the most oblivious being on Earth. Calmly cutting her chicken and separating all the greens from her plate, she didn’t even notice the glare Lena gave her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"From risking your goddamn life, maybe."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, that made her realize something was wrong. Fork paused on the way to her mouth, Kara raised her eyes to meet Lena across the table. "You mean, Supergirl."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Of course that's what I mean! Kara, what happened today..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Was a minor accident,” the blonde waved her hand like she was brushing it off. “I'm fine, nothing happened."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The younger woman couldn’t even believe what she was hearing. "What if it hadn't been so minor? What if you got hurt for real? Or worse!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But I didn't."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What if you had, Kara?!” Lena dropped her fork and knife and started gesticulating with her hands like she did when she was desperately trying to prove a point. “God, what if something really bad happened while you were out there? What then?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Being Supergirl..." Kara started and she had been waiting for that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know it's important to you, but..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde shook her head. "Not only for me, Lena! People out there count on me to protect them!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What about your daughter?" Lena demanded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm protecting her too! Making the world a safer place for her!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes? And what is she supposed to do if you get yourself killed? What was I supposed to do if you had died out there today?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both paused, the weight of her words causing enough discomfort that none of them knew how to reply to it for a while. Finally, Kara looked down, her shoulders low and voice uncertain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"... I'm fine."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena sighed. "Today, yes. Thankfully and only because Alex knew what to do. But what about tomorrow? Or the day after that? What will happen to our daughter if the worse happens to you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"... She will still have you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And that makes it okay? She's still going to have a mom, so she can lose the other one? That's what you think?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her wife threw her a glare. "That's not what I said and you know it. What you're asking from me is..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm asking you to think about your family, shit!” Lena contained her will to hit her palm against her table the same way she saw Lionel doing thousand of times when she was a kid. She remembered quite clearly how scared that made her and, although she could never hurt Kara, that didn’t mean it was fine for her to act violently around her. So she softened her tone and tried again. “I get why Supergirl is so important to you, but..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, I don't think you do," Kara shook her head and the certain in her voice shocked the other woman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If you're asking me to stop, you don't know what it means to me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unbelievable, Lena thought. Kara was truly putting her own family behind her job? Didn’t she make Lena take a license from L-Corp a month before she had to because she needed to think more about herself? And what was Kara doing now? "... Does it mean more than me? More than your daughter, your <em>family</em>?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's not fair," Kara waved her fork like she was saying ‘no’ while shaking her head again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You going around risking your life isn't fair either,” Lena replied. “What am I going to do if you're not here with us?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a considerable time where Kara said nothing before she finally pushed her plate away and sighed. "You won't ever have to worry about that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Easier said than done, Lena thought. She worried about Kara’s safety every damn second of every damn day. "Not if you listen to me. All I want is for you to be safe."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And all I want is to keep <em>you</em> safe.” Kara sighed again, leaning against the table with her forearms. “We can't have both."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena’s heart sank down on her stomach. "Can't we have at least one?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know my opinion about this."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She did. That wasn’t the first time they ever talked about this, far from that. Over the years they had been together, Lena had begged and pleaded numerous times for Kara to take care, to stop acting so reckless, to start considering she had people who worried about her and who were waiting for her to be back. And, every time, the hero would brush it off saying it was her duty, and that she had a commitment with National City and their inhabitants. And, every time, Lena would be left feeling more and more helpless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She refused to drop the subject this time. "Please, Kara. It's your daughter."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stop making this about her."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lena snorted. "This <em>is</em> about her. I don't want my daughter to lose her mother because she was being reckless and stubborn!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s not going to lose me, Lena.” Kara declared firmly. “Neither will you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t promise that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lena, babe, you know I can’t stop being Supergirl.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not asking you to,” she argued back. “I never asked that from you, Kara. Not even once. All I’m asking is for you to take care, to think about what you’re leaving behind when you leave for your crazy missions. Alex told me you jumped in front of that alien today without waiting for back-up and look what happened! What if his toxin killed you? You couldn’t know that!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kara didn’t reply. Instead, she took a deep breath, crossed her arms, and looked away. She was making the face she did every time she was about to lose an argument and Lena felt the relief start washing over her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You told me you keep track of my heartbeat when you’re away, that you do that to make sure I’m safe,” the brunette used her index finger to point at the table like her argument was in display in front of her like she had done with her board members other times before that. “But I don’t have the same privilege. Every time you put on your suit and fly away, all I can do is hope you will be back. And you don’t make it easy for me when I know you won’t take care of yourself. So can you please, for the love of your wife and your unborn child, start thinking about us before you jump in a fight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blue eyes rose to meet hers, finally, and unreleased tears were shining on them. Kara looked truly devasted for a second. “I never thought about it that way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not wanting to poke the wound, all Lena did was nod. “So, please, start. For my sake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Lena.” Kara jumped to her feet and quickly moved until she was kneeling on the floor beside her wife’s chair. She took her hands on hers and squeezed it tightly. “I will. I promise you. I’m sorry about today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just before Lena could answer, Kara’s phone started ringing. The blonde gave her a sad smile before she got up to go search for it. The CEO tried to finish her meal but she wasn’t hungry anymore and she doubted her wife would actually eat the salad she made, so she got up and started filling the dishwasher.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was almost done when Kara came back, holding the phone in one hand and supporting an apologetic smile that already told her she wouldn’t like whatever her wife was about to tell her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going to like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No surprise.</span>
</p>
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